Joe and Suemays second Coon
1983
I was trying to use a pet coon to train hounds.
I would drag the coon cage and hang it up and let hounds track it.
They were getting board of this especially Sue May.
Joe would not bark at a caged coon,
even if I tried to sic him on it.
So I let coon go and figured he would change county’s,
however he went up the first little tree he came to.
He would not come down or run so I left him food and water and went home.
He was there all night and all the next day,
but the following day he came down and left.
So the next night about midnight we went out.
I had no gun this being September 15th.
I wanted to exercise the hounds and try and find the easy coon.
We walked the usual route,
Joe and Sue May picked up a track near where the easy coon was last seen but lost it along a long grownup fence row running across bare fields.
Then we went farther into the woods on down by the creek.
Sue May treed a possum and I remember thinking this is better than nothing.
I called them and walked on, they left the tree right away.
We walked way down the creek but struck nothing.
I turned come back and they just then opened and ran up hill away from the creek and west…chalk rock and cedar uplands.
I walked after them with old Barry dog my collie retriever who stays with me when we hunt. The hounds were long gone so I waited with light on dim so they could see me.
In about fifteen minutes I heard one walking around in the leaves nearby. I stood there and enjoyed the ¾ waning moon which was very high and cast a very good light and the loud rustling of the giant cotton wood trees.
Thinking back to many past hunts, while watching the many patches of still white moonlight on the ground.
The moonlight on the chalk rock is bright enough for walking without a light so I switched off the nightlight and was walking along.
I noticed a shadow moving across the ground
so I switched on light and noticed a big skunk
waddling unhurriedly along.
Sue May just then crossed the track of the skunk and sniffed.
When I said no Sue May, she much to my surprise turned and walked away continuing to hunt.
Just this year all of a sudden Joe and Sue May stopped chasing armadillos, skunks, and rabbits,
I believe it is because I trot hard and keep up with them
and am in fact hunting with them,
and they know it.
I remind them coon!
Coon! is what we are after,
and scold them promptly for trashing and after a number of times a word is enough.
Hounds naturally loose interest in trash when you let them know what you are hunting and keep up with the hunt yourself.
Don’t let them get board.
The worst thing you can do with hounds is beat them for hunting undesirable game and then fail to take them to where there are coon and then to hunt hard and have fun. They must hunt it is their nature.
Guide them by doing your part,
by finding good coon areas, staying out late,
and often.
Enjoy being pack leader and encourage them to excel.
Anyway, we went over onto the power company land and bingo!
Joe treed at once.
I shone light up the tree and the first thing I saw was a coon.
He was in the first crotch of a giant oak 6’ through
and as sound as a dollar.
With a large limb 3’ through leaning against it 5’ high at the tree.
After 4 years of possums skunks, armadillos, rats, cats and poodles,
{and one lucky coyote kill” A coon!
And there he was!
Well, I thought poor old coon.
This is the tame one we let go 4 nights before.
I enjoyed the dogs treeing awhile and then got to thinking of the old colored man I had seen the other night with 3-4 of his friends.
It was mid September and they were out hunting with half a dozen hounds and a shotgun. They would surly kill this dumb coon.
My dogs need him awful bad to chew as their reward,
and as training’s final touch.
I really need to shoot this coon out to the dogs.
I thought to myself…
Do you, self, want coon dogs?
Or do feelings of compassion for pet coon outweigh?
Do I want to be legal and miss chance to blood dogs on their number one first fair chase coon?
Moral problem … poor coon, 4 days of freedom and pow!
vs my hounds education?
I figured due to my inexperience at training they are behind.
I hear about 1-2 year old hounds treeing their own coon regularly.
My hounds are going to loose interest in treeing as they are never encouraged on anything but squirrel.
Everything else is trash!
I do let them tree possums, anything that climbs.
They need a coon to chew on I have been saying a thousand times, get a coon.
They need coon scent strongly implanted in their minds!
They need it!
In order to be good coon hounds!
So I made my mind up to tie Susie up, and go back to the house for the gun to shoot the coon in the name of education.
Unsporting as it is.
I came back with gun.
Joe had left tree and had met me at the house.
He is used to me leaving tree because of seasons or trash,
he is loosing his natural treeing instinct because of this
so back we go to get Joe that coon.
Poor Joe had thought I was going home
when he realized we were going back!
He was very excited.
25% of the way back to the tree he took off!
And I soon heard him barking treed with his sister
who I had tied to a bush so she would keep the coon busy.
When I got to the tree,
dogs wouldn’t even bark at coon,
I was siccing them I held up the gun,
coon saw that gun!
And started going places!
He came down the tree and ran off into this thicket.
Joe didn’t see this I called Joe over to where coon had passed
on leaning tree and as he hit the scent trail
Boooowwwww!
And the chase was on.
Joe took off in full cry, hot after coon,
working strictly by scent.
He never saw coon but the track was so hot Joe
sounded like he was right on that coons tail.
Joe had coon treed in one minute!
Down thickly wooded dry wash in big oak hollow,
on edge of wash.
I shined but saw only a hole.
Joe was treeing hard but not Suemay.
I climbed tree and shined light down hole,
there was a coon down in the center of the tree,
he looked up at me,
and I said well hi there coon!
For this was not the same coon I had let go!
It was all scroungy all grey and not nearly as fat my coon!
There were coon hairs all over the opening of this well worn
coon tree.
I later noticed tracks of coon on every log crossing the wash,
and since it hadn’t rained for two weeks,
I am sure this was a real wild coon,
and not the pet.
This coon had lived here for months.
I still couldn’t get Sue May to bark treed like she will on a squirrel.
But she hasn’t been tree barking much lately letting Joe
do all the work.
She will come and lay on the porch while Joe is treeing,
however get a gun and walk outside and she runs to the tree
and barks like hell.
Popped a few rounds up at tree,
all dog were silent then all started barking like crazy.
A few more shots and they were thinking
“well now the fool will shoot the coon out for us”
and they just barked like there was 10 coon up there,
for that’s all sue wanted was for me to do my part.
They were used to summer hunting
and no shooting but shoot over them and they really respond,
they are happy.
I really should shoot out a coon to them first chance
but this jump out and second chase,
got them to treeing good.
In shape for the hunting season and I now have a coon to chase every night plus the pet coon,
I HAVE YET TO RUN ACROSS.
The hounds, Barry and I stayed at the tree till 4 in the morning,
we all had a good time.
There are two coon in the woods now,
right beside my house,
and come kill season,
Susie will get all the coon she wants.
This is an old story written in 1983
The pups were young then,
their picture is on the next to last page of my website 'Stories'
Thank you...
Jack the Knife
http://jacksknifeshop.tripod.com/