Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1882-03-23
pECULIARIT1Es OF THE JACK RABBIT.

The American jack rabbit is an inhabitant
of Texas and of some other western States.
He is often called the ''mule-eared rabbit, :"
and, by the cowboy, familiarly spoken Of as
the ''muley." He is not a rabbit at ALL A
rabbit is an unObtrusive little animal, who
is found by school boys, in a hole in the
ground, at the end of a long track in the snow.
The so-called jack rabbit is quite different
kind of soup-meat. He is Identical with the
British hare, except that he is larger, his
color lighter, and his ears much longer. His
avoirdupois isabout twelve pounds, and hisea
measure, from tip to tip, about sixteen inches.
He does not burrow in the ground. He lies
under cover of a bunch of prarie grass, but is
very seldom found at home, his office hours
being between sunset and sunrise. He is to
be found during the day on the open prairie,
where he feeds on the tender shoots OF the
mesquite or sage grass. He is not ferocious
animal, as stranger might be led to suppose
from an examination of what purports to be
his picture, under the alias Of ''The Texian
Hare"
The jack rabbit has many enemies, among
them the cowboy, who shoots him with his
rifle, the coyote and the dog, that try to run
him down. He has two ways OF protecting
himself against his enemies. One way is to
squat, when he suspects danger, and fold his
ears along his Sides BY doing this ne often
escapes observation, as only his back is ex-
posed, the color of which harmonizes with the
brown of the withered grass. The other plan,
that he uses when discovered and pursued, is
to create remoteness between himself and his
pursuer. In giving his whole attention to
this matter, when necessary, ne IS stupen-
dous success, and earnest to fault. When
disturbed, he unlimbers his long legs, unfurls
his ears and goes off with a bound. He gen.
orally stops after running about one hundred
yards, and looks back to see if his pursuer is
enjoying the chase as much as he thought he
would, and then he leaves for parts unknown.
There are many fast things, from an ice
boat to a note maturing in bank, but moth
ing to equal the jack rabbit. An unfounded
rumor gets around pretty lively, but could
not keep up with him for two blocks. When
an ordinary cur dog tries to expedite Jack
rabbit route, he makes a humiliating failure
of it.
He only gives the rabbit gentle exercise.
The latter merely throws up his ears and,
under easy sail, skins leisurely along, tacking
occasionally to give the funeral procession
time to catch up. But if you want to see We
locity, urgent speed, and precipitated haste,
you have only to turn loose greyhound in
the wake of jack rabbit. Pursued by grey
hound he will ''let himself out" in manner
that would astonish prepaid half-rate mes
sage. If he is rabbit that has never had any
experience with a greyhound before, he will
start off at an easy pace, but as he turns to wink
derisively at what he supposes to be an ordna-
ry yellow dog, he realizes that there is force
in nature hitherto unknown to him, and his
look of astonisment, alarm, and disgust, as
he furls his ears and promptly declines the
nomination, is amusing. Under such circum-
stances he goes too fast for the eye to follow
his movements, and presents the optical illu-
sion Of a streak of jack rabbit a mile and a
half-long.