I am much admired for my beauty of form and color. Poets have sung my praises, and I am extensively used in decorative art, yet I doubt if there ever existed a form more plain and ungainly than mine.
Though innocent of crime, I have been hung; and indeed I can not be said to have accomplished my mission in life until this has been done to me.
I am considered fair sport for hunters, and in olden times pursuit of me was a favorite amusement among the nobility. No one has ever thought of employing me as a police agent, yet once, long ages ago, I indirectly denounced and brought to judgment the murderers of a wealthy merchant of world-wide reputation.
The works produced in my name have gladdened the hearts and delighted the eyes of many children, and grown people as well, both in this country and in foreign lands.
The Raccoon.—The home of the raccoon is generally in a hollow tree; the young are brought forth in May, and are from four to six in number.
In captivity this animal makes a very cunning and interesting pet, being easily tamed to follow his master, and when dainties are in view, becomes a most adroit pickpocket. His food is extensive in variety, thus making it quite an easy matter to keep the creature in confinement. He eagerly devours nuts and fruits of all kinds, as well as bread, cake, and potatoes. He manifests no hesitation at a meal of rabbit, rat, squirrel, or bird, and rather likes it for a change, and when he can partake of a dessert of honey or molasses, his enjoyment knows no bounds.
In cold climates the raccoon lies dormant in the winter, only venturing out on occasional mild days; but in the Southern States he is active throughout the year, prowling about by day and by night in search of his food, inserting his little sharp nose into every corner, and feeling with his slender paws between stones for spiders and bugs of all kinds. He spies the innocent frog with his head just out of the water, and pouncing upon him, he dispatches him without a moment's warning. There seems to be no limit to his rapacity, for he is always eating and always hungry. The print of the raccoon's paw in the mud or snow is easily recognized, much resembling the impression made by the foot of a babe.
The best season for trapping the raccoon is late in the fall, winter, and early spring, or in and between the months of October and April. During this time the pelts are in excellent condition. Early in the spring, when the snow is disappearing, the raccoons come out of their hiding-places to start on their foraging tours, and at this time are particularly susceptible to a tempting bait, and they may be successfully trapped in the following manner:
Take a steel-trap and set it on the edge of some pool or stream which the raccoons are known to frequent; let it be an inch or so under the water, and carefully chained to a clog. The bait may consist of a fish, frog, or head of a fowl, scented with oil of anise, and suspended over the trap, about two feet higher, by the aid of a sapling secured in the ground. The object of this is to induce the animal to jump for it, when he will land with his foot in the trap.—From Camp Life in the Woods. Harper & Brothers.