THE COON-HUNTING INVESTIGATION

Learning About Coon Hounds

EDITOR'S NOTE: Sportsmen have so much fun in the out-of-doors, and many enjoy no sport more than that of hunting coons. This report was filed by Mr. Wiggins with the federal government's Human Development Commission from his hospital room. Because of his condition, he had to dictate the report to his secretary, who promised to help him complete his work during his six months of convalescence.

After Mr. Wiggins contacted the people of the Pork Chop Knob Coon-Hunting Club and met the hunters, then he made the acquaintance of the hounds that chased the coons. Each of the hounds the men hunted with had their own characteristics, personalities, coloration and education that in some ways mimicked the personalities of the men with whom they hunted. For instance, Chopper was an aggressive tri-colored Walker hound. The nicks out of both his ears were the battle scars he showed with pride every night when he was let out of the kennel and thrown into the dog box of the pick-up truck. Chopper was not only the first hound to find a coon on most hunts, he was also the first to attack a coon when it hit the ground or went into the water. Absolutely fearless, Chopper was a big, barrel-chested dog. He was hard to pull away from the tree if the hunters decided to let the coon stay in the tree and leave to find another ringtail to run. Chopper was Big Red's dog. The man was a proud of the dog's warrior-like spirit as he was of his own prowess in a bar fight.

Big Red also owned a female dog named Sue, that was nothing like Big Red since she was good-looking, gentle of spirit and very knowledgeable about coons. Yet, you easily could see why Big Red chose Sue, since she was the embodiment of Big Red's wife, Mary Sue. (You may not realize that most southern women have double names.) Everyone in town knew Mary Sue was the intelligence behind Big Red. She negotiated him out of many different situations. When the other dogs in the pack overran the track or when the coon played a trick on the dogs, Sue would be the first in the pack to unravel the mystery of which way the coon had gone.

Bubba's dog was named Charlie. This brindle-colored Plott hound must have been bred with a racing greyhound. You'd always find Charlie at the front of the pack once the dogs started running the coons. Charlie's nose wasn't as keen as some of the other dogs, but his speed was legendary. Charlie was also a swimmer and usually won the Pork Chop Knob Hunting Club water races.

Junior had two redbone hounds named Thurman and Herman that hunted together. Neither dog ever would break away from the other to chase his own coon, and they'd back each other up in a fight. Thurman and Herman were pack dogs that rarely struck a coon or hardly ever were the first to the tree. However, they seemed to keep the pack together and always were the first hounds back to the car when the hunt was over and the men blew on their horns to call in the dogs.

Thomas didn't have a dog. He just enjoyed the fellowship of the men on the hunt and listening to the hounds. Thomas was so irresponsible that if he had a dog, he'd probably forget to feed and water it. Thomas wasn't married and wanted nothing or anybody to require him to be at any certain place at a specific time on any particular day. But Thomas never missed a coon hunt. For him, being out with the men at night equaled a religious experience. In the hip-pocket of his overalls, you'd find a pack of needless, monofilament fishing line and some fine wire-leader. In the front bib of his overalls, he carried disinfectant powder, wire-snips, scissors, surgical tape, a razor and all the medicine required to doctor a dog if a coon got the best of one of the hounds. Although Thomas didn't have a hound of his own, he seemed to be the dog doctor for everyone in the community of Pork Chop Knob.

TOMORROW: MEETING THE COON HUNTERS AND THE HOUNDS