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[[Bark (sound)|Barking]] up the wrong tree became common use in nineteenth century America in reference to hunting raccoons with a hunting dog. When the nocturnal animal takes to a tree, the dog is supposed to remain at the base of the tree until its master arrives. However, in the dark, if the dog mistakes the tree where the raccoon has taken refuge, the hunter may lose it. The expression was commonly used by writers of western life and tales, appearing in works by James Hall, David Crockett, and Albert Pike.<ref>Funk, Charles Earle, and Tom Funk. 2107 curious word origins, sayings and expressions from white elephants to a song and dance. Galahad Books, 1993.</ref>
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* 1833 – "It doesn't take a Philadelphia lawyer to tell that the man who serves the master one day, and the enemy six, has just six chances out of seven to go to the devil. You are ''barking up the wrong tree,'' Johnson."—James Hall, ''Legends of the West,'' p. 46.<ref name="Thornton43">Thornton, Richard H. and Louise Hanley. (1912). ''An American glossary,'' p. 43.</ref>
* 1833 – "I told him that he reminded me of the meanest thing on God's earth, an old coon dog ''barking up the wrong tree''." -- ''Sketches of David Crockett," p. 58. (New York).<ref name="Thornton43"/>
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