‘My raccoons are, at the time of writing this, more than a year old, and have been in captivity for six or eight months. They are very frolicsome and amusing, and show no disposition to bite or injure any one, except when accidentally trodden on. They are equally free from any disposition to injure children, as has been observed of other individuals. We frequently turn them loose in the parlor, and they appear to be highly delighted, romping with each other and the children, without doing any injury even to the youngest. Their alleged disposition to hurt children especially, may probably be fairly explained by the fact above mentioned, that they always attempt to bite when suddenly hurt, and few children touch animals without pinching or hurting them. They exhibit this spirit of retaliation, not only to man, but when they accidentally hurt themselves against an inanimate body; I have many times been amused to observe the expression of spite with which one of them has sprung at and bit the leg of a chair or table, after knocking himself against it so as to hurt some part of his body. ‘These animals may be tamed while young, but as they grow to maturity, most generally become fierce and even dangerous. I have had one so tame as to follow a servant about through the house or streets, though entirely at liberty; this was quite young when obtained, and grew so fond of human society as to complain very loudly, by a sort of chirping or whining noise, when left alone. Nothing can possibly exceed the domesticated raccoon in restless and mischievous curiosity, if suffered to go about the house. Every chink is ransacked, every article of furniture explored, and the neglect of servants to secure closet doors, is sure to be followed by extensive mischief, the evil being almost uniformly augmented by the alarm caused to the author of it, whose ill-directed efforts to escape from supposed peril, increase at the same time the noise and the destruction.’