The Wisconsin magazine of history: Volume 23, number 4, June 1940

              1940 a frontiersman in wisconsin 417 cookies " their smell and taste were just to his liking for when he was discovered by mother he was standing on his head inside the big jar eating like a pig from the honied cookies mother caught the thief by the tail and cast him out of doors with this warning to me 111 kill your coon if i again find him in here !' i put the little leather strap i had for billy around his neck tied him as i thought securely but a little later he broke or chewed off the light string he was tied with and again took a sneak for mother's pantry it seems there were no cookies on hand but he found the molasses jug he twisted off the cork and when mother again found him he was dipping one little arm into the jug then sitting back and licking it off he got an awful spanking for this and i cannot recall that he was ever again found in the pantry we kept him for years one day when father was out looking for a deer he crossed a stretch of meadowland and found a nest of sand hill cranes they were only a few days old and of course easily picked up father put them into a little wicker pen and fed them such food as little chickens eat they grew very fast and since they were naturally quite tame they were allowed the freedom of the house and yard the days being warm — it being in the month of may — they had a certain place they would rest in at night they followed us about as freely as a dog they would go to the cow yard with us at milking time and pick flies from the cows legs and bodies for it was insect food they were ever so fond of it was not long before one of them was lain on by a cow and killed the one left would take long trips with me over the hills and as soon as his wing feathers grew so that he was free to fly or walk he soon learned to save steps when i walked down into some ravine and up the opposite side he would wait on the side of the ravine until i was surely going