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PAGE SIX CASS CITY CHRONICLE-THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 8,1984 CASS CITY, MICHIGAN
Woods or water, Adams’ dogs ,are ready
Robert Adams is one of
those few men who have
been able to develop a har-
monious relationship bet-
ween himself, his dogs and
nature.
Adams, a lifelong coon
hunter from Cass City, said
that during the season he
has hunted coons from dusk
until noon the next day. His
dogs won’t give up on the
scent of a coon trail, and
Adams won’t give up on his
dogs.
“If you got a good one
(coon dog), it’s a real plea-
sure to be out there walking
behind them,” Adams said.
“I have had some good*
ones, and some bad ones.”
“I do it mostly for fun,”
he said. “I just like to go out
there for the sport of it. If
you don’t enjoy it you might
just as well stay home in
front of the television.”
Adams’ hobby takes him
from the fields and wooded
lands around Cass City to
water races and field trial
events throughout the area.
His black and tan coon dogs
have won several trophies
for their ability to follow
the scent of a coon in field
competition.
Adams explained that in
a field trial, the smell of a
fresh coon is laid down
through an area for about
one mile. About five dogs
are released at one time,
and the first dog to cross
the finish line and find the
tree where the caged coon
is held is the winner. In the
competition, like on a hunt,
the dogs must rely on their
ability to find and follow the
scent of the coon.
Adarns said that another
favorite competition of his
is the water races. In a
water race, dogs swim
along a course for about 315
feet, chasing a caged coon
that is suspended above the
water on a cable.
Adams explained that in i
a water race four or five
dogsareputintoindividual
TILE SIZES
line at the end of the swim-
ming event, and the first to
bay when the coon is treed.
In March, when the coon
hunting season is over,
Adams and other coon hun-
ters enter into night com-
petitions that are held by
area coon hunting cubs.
Adams said that particip-
ants pay an entry fee to put
NOW BOTH
their dogs and themselves
in competition with other
hunters.
In a night competition,
four or five dogs are taken
into an area where the dogs
are released to pick up the
scent of a coon. Unlike the
field or water competitions,
the coons are not planted.
It is UD to the dogs to find
boxes at the start Of the tan coon dogs are always ready for the hunt.
course. Before the race be-
gins the dogs are allowed to
see the caged coon.
When the dogs are released,
about 15 the to 20 feet in is front
the scent of the wild coons.
Adams said that in order
to compete, a handler has
to be able to recognize the
bark of his dog, and be able
to tell the judge that it is his
dog that is barking. The
handler must be able to tell
the judge that it is his dog
that has found the scent
within three howls of the
ALL READY -- Robert Adams and two of his black and
kept Farm prices down eight
of the doas. At the end of
the waterrthe cable is hung n 1
up so the a pole, caged above coon the is reach
*I
taken nercent porn last year
LIMITED TIME ONLY
FABRICS N OT INCLUDED
ClllHMEY CAP
--
mers for all farm products
averaged 124 percent of its
1977 base for the month en-
ding Oct. 15. This repre-
sents a 4 percent decline
from the September level,
according to the Michigan
Agricultural Reporting
Service. Prices during Oc-
tober were 8 percent below
the comparable month a
year ago.
The Index of Prices Paid
by Farmers, nationwide,
for commodities and ser-
vices, interest, taxes, and
farm wage rates for Oc-
tober was 164 percent of its
1977 base, down 1 percent
from September. Prices for
feed and fertilizer were
lower. Higher prices, for
feeder cattle and calves
and diesel fuels were par-
tially offsetting. The index
was up 2 percent from a
year earlier.
In Michigan, overall
farm prices were generally
weaker in the crops sector
and mostly steady in the
livestock sector. Dairy pro-
ducts and cash field crops
were the only commodity
groups with higher price
levels than September. In-
dividual commodities with
stronger prices were dry
beans, calves and milk.
However, these increases
were not enough to offset
the price decreases for
corn, oats, soybeans,
MUCH EASIER
LASTS A LIFETIME 1 I
BIGELOW HARDWARE-
Owners:
-
CASS CITY Jerry & Betty Stilson 872-2245
potatoes, eggs, hogs, steers
and heifers. Winter wheat,
hay and slaughter cows displayed
no price change
from the previous month.
Nationally, the October
all Farm Products Index of
Prices Received by farmers
decreased 1 percent
from September to 138 percent
of its 1977 average. I
Lower prices for cattle, ’
hogs, corn, broilers, and
eggs were partially offset
by higher prices for
oranges, grapefruit, milk,
lettuce and st rawberries ~
The Index was 3 percent
above a year ago.
New trout for
acidic water
With a solution to the acid ~
rain problem still a long
way off, biologists in up-
state New York are trying
to develop a heartier strain
of trout that could survive
in at least moderately
acidic waters, reports Na-
tional Wildlife magazine.
The viable, though tempor-
ary strategy, would surely
help trout fishing, which is
a big business throughout
upstate New York.
Call
ERNEST A.
TEICHMAN JR.
6240 W. Main
Cass City, Michigan
Phone 872-3388
dog. Adams said that if a his wife contacted him. A
handler knows his dog, he farmer about seven miles
can usually distinguish the away had found his dog.
howl of his dog from the “Iknowdarnwellmydog
other dogs on the scent of didn’t go that far. Sorne-
the coon. body picked her up on the
The first handler to tell road,” Adams said. Like
the judge that his dog has most coon hunters, Adams
found the scent receives 100 has his name and telephone
points. Seventy-five points number printed on the
are awarded for second dog’s collar.
place, 50 for third place and Adams said that it takes
25 for fourth place. a lot of work to train a dog
When the coon is treed, to be a good coon hunter.
the handler has until his dog He said that the best way to
bays three times to tell the teach them is to have the
judge that it is his dog. pup hunt with an older ex-
When the handlers and the perienced dog to show it
judge get to the tree, they how to hunt, and protect it-
must be able to spot the self from the coon.
coon. If the coon is found, “It takes a good dog to
the handler who called his handle a coon when they
dog first receives 125 get one cornered,” he said.
points.
“There is a lot of differ-
ence between a trail bark
and a treed bay,” Adams
said. “You’ve got to have
an ear for it. fi you know
your dog you can tell.”
Adams said that when a
dog is on a cold trail, one
that is several hours old,
the dog will bark every now
and then. As the trail gets
fresher they will bark more
often. When the dog has
chased the coon to a tree,
the pitch of the dog’s bark
is different +
On a tvaical hunting
night, Adams will take the
dogs to an area where he
expects to find coons. He
said that most farmers
allow him to hunt because
they are happy to get rid of
the coons that damage their
crops.
Adams turns his dogs
loose and waits for them to
howl, telling him that they
have found the scent of a
coon trail.
“I never know where I
am going to end up,” he
said. “It may be clean across
the section.”
He said that if the dogs
are unable to find any scent
of a coon, they will usually
come back to the truck
within 20 to 30 minutes.
But once they have founa
the scent, the dogs will not
stop until they tree the coon
and wait for Adams to
come. He said that he
cannot call his do s off the
trail, so he has to % e ready
to follow them wherever
they go.
a Last Saturday night he
was unable to find one of his
dogs. He said he was unable
to hear the dog bark and
thought that maybe the
wind was too strong for the
noise to reach him. After
searching for several
hours, he went home. Sun-
day morning he began
searching again. Finally
--- Y
“I have seen dogs get rip-
ped right up by a coon.” He
said that a good kill dog will
go right for the coon’s
throat.
One of the most impor-
tant things to teach the dogs
is to keep them from chas-
ing deer and fox. Adams
said that because a deer
can run so fast and far, and
they leave a strong trail,
the dog can chase them for
a long distance. If the dogs
are going to chase deer,
they are no good to him.
“A lot of guys say that
they can break them of
chasing deer, but to me it
has to be proved,” Adams
said. Magazines that he has
show coon dogs that are sel-
-
ling for $500 to over $1,500.
“It all depends on what
a guy is willing to pay,” he
said. “I wouldn’t want to
own an expensive dog,
You’re always worried that
someone is going to steal
him or that he will get hit
by a car.”
Adams said that some of
the hunters will shoot every
coon they see. He said that
most nights he will not
shoot all of the coons that
his dogs tree. He believes
that he should leave some
coons so that next year he
can once again enjoy his
sport.
Adams, 51, and his wife
Lillie, live at 4546 Oak St.,
Cas City. They have four
chillren.
TROPHY WINNERS -- Robert Adarns poses with Some of
the many trophies that he has won with his coon dogs.
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