The Red Flannel Rag

hounds to chase the coon up a tree. When the coon ran up a tree, the dogs changed their

barks from short rhythmic barks to long barks then long howls. We ran to the tree, and

one of the hunters shot the coon. Coon hunters always stood around for a few minutes

after a successful kill. When I was with them, they pulled out a pint of whiskey and

passed it around. Each man took a snort. When the bottle came to me, they offered me

a drink. I said, “No thanks, I don’t want any.” Their response was, “If you can’t drink

with us, you can’t hunt with us.” I reached for the bottle and took a snort myself. The

hunters regrouped and we walked on up the hollow. In a little while, I was glad I had

taken a drink. It did seem to take the edge off the cold. We got three coons that night.

We headed home at about four o’clock in the morning. The moon had come up to help

light our way. When we came out of Ground Squirrel Bridge hollow into Uncle Shirley’s

pasture, a heavy blanket of frost had fallen and made the grass crunch beneath our feet.

Just about everybody in Hopkins Gap knew the qualities of a good coonhound. A

good coonhound understands the many tricks of the raccoon. If a family of coons is

surprised, the male will lead the dogs away and then lose them by one of several tricks.

The coon climbs a tree then jumps out of the tree to the ground as far from the trunk as

possible. Most hounds think the coon is still up the tree, but the best coonhounds know

they should circle the tree for a trail leading away. If there is water nearby, a raccoon

might try another trick to throw off the hounds when they come to the creek. He might

swim upstream, get out on the opposite bank, mark a trail, get back in the water, and

return exactly where he entered.

Coonhounds were known as either an “open mouth” hunter or a “still mouth”

hunter. Uncle Shirley had one of each. Old Buck was a “still mouth” hound. He never

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