RACCOON. 
81 
hold, and he comes toppling heavily to the ground, and is instantly seized 
by the dogs. It frequently happens however that the trees are tall and 
destitute of lower branches so that they cannot be climbed without the risk 
of life or limb. The negroes survey for a few moments in the bright moon- 
light the tall and formidable tree that shelters the coon, grumble a little 
at the beast for not having saved them trouble by mounting an easier tree, 
and then the ringing of their axes resounds through the still woods, 
awakening echoes of the solitude previously disturbed only by the hooting 
of the owl, or the impatient barking of the dogs. In half an hour the tree, 
is brought to the ground and with it the Raccoon, stunned by the fall : his 
foes give him no time to define his position, and after a short and bloody 
contest with the dogs, he is despatched, and the sable hunters remunerated, 
lor his skin they will sell to the hatters in the nearest town, and his flesh 
they will hang up in a tree to freeze and furnish them with many a savoury 
meal. 
The greatest number of Raccoons, however, are killed by log-traps set 
with a flgure of 4 trigger, and baited with a bird or squirrel, an ear of 
corn, or a fish : either the appetite or curiosity of these animals will entice 
them into a trap or entangle them in a snare. 
Another mode of destroying this species is by fire-hunting, which requires 
good shooting, as the animal only shows one eye from behind the branch of 
a tree, which reflecting the light of the fire-hunter’s torch, shines like a ball 
of phosphorus, and is generally knocked out at twenty-five or thirty yards 
by a good marksman. 
The Raccoon, like the bear, hibernates for several months during winter in 
the latitude of New-York, and only occasionally and in a warm day leaves 
its retreat, which is found in the hollow of some large tree. We once how- 
ever tracked in deep snow the footsteps of a pair ot this species in the 
northern parts of New-York, and obtained them by having the tree in which 
they lay concealed cut down- They had made a circle in company of 
about a mile, and then returned to their winter domicil. 
The specimen from which the representation on our plate was taken 
was a remarkably fine male, and was sent to us alive by our friend, the 
late Dr. .Iohn Weight of Troy. New-York. 
GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTIOX. 
The Raccoon has a very extensive geographical range. Captain Cook saw 
skins at Nootka Sound which were supposed to be those of the Raccoon. 
Dixon and Pari.tock obtained Raccoon skins from the natives of Cook’s 
River in latitude 60°. It is supposed by Richardson that this animal extends 
