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and Coon Dogs. . . .


Daddy never cared much for coon hunting, but it was a highly popular activity in middle Tennessee where we lived. There were coon hunting clubs and groups where men met regularly to hunt together and tell tales around the campfire.  Any serious coon hunter had multiple dogs trained to track and tree coons.

My Grandpa Gean liked coon hunting, although he didn't care to hunt in groups and usually went alone.  I was a curious child and questioned Grandpa about the thrills of coon hunting.  It went something like this:

Me:  So, why do you like to coon hunt?  Are you hunting for food?

Grandpa: You know your Grandma wouldn't cook a coon.

Me: Why would you kill something if it wasn't for food?

Grandpa: I would never kill a coon.

Me, confused, for up until now I had erroneously thought finding food was the object of hunting: So, why do you go?

Grandpa: I like to hear the dogs running and treeing the coon.

Me, after much deep pondering:  Now, let me get this straight.  You walk miles through the woods at night and sit by a campfire,  sometimes in the rain and cold, to listen to dogs bark for hours and hours?

Grandpa:  Yep! I love it!

Well, I didn't get it then, and I still don't get it, but I'm not judging.  Different strokes for different folks, Sly and I say.  Believe it or not, there are people alive today who don't understand the joy of cutting new fabric into hundreds of pieces and sewing them together again.  Go figure.

There were other men who took this sport much more seriously than Grandpa did.  In fact, they were so serious about it that their dogs were loved and cared for like members of the family.
                          . . . . . to be continued

Comments

  1. lil red henSeptember 5, 2012 at 1:36 PM

    Daddy hunted for the hides to sell. Our smokehouse west wall was where the hides hung.

    My mother-in-law cooked a coon one time just because one of the boys wanted her to; I didn't eat any of it!

    I know there are people who don't understand about the fabric cuts either :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Faith, Folklore, and FriendsSeptember 5, 2012 at 5:34 PM

      I have heard about people cooking coon and possum but I have never seen or tasted any. The people I knew who hunted did it just to have fun. Thanks for your comments!

      Delete
  2. Patricia J. WeaverSeptember 5, 2012 at 7:59 PM

    My husband said he has eaten possum but that his grandparents would keep the animal under a washtub and feed it for five days before killing it to eat. I love to hear the dogs bray too ... just not late at night or early in the morning. Never hunted with dogs... in truth never hunted period... don't like to kill for sport but I have killed coons and possum and other varmints that got in the chicken house or came around the yard.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Faith, Folklore, and FriendsSeptember 6, 2012 at 8:00 AM

      We have tried to kill possums that got our chickens back when we lived on the farm, but I don't think we ever got any! Thanks for your comments.

      Delete

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