The Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1877-1885, 1882-03-25
A GLORIOUS RABBIT-HUNT.

| ping on their way to school to see the
morning train arrive from the city were
made very indignant, and not for the
tirst time either, by the appearance of
half a dozen city sportsmen with guns,
who had come up to track rabbits over
the snow. Not that the boys cared for
rabbits, for they didn't; rabbit-skins did
not bring a penny in the market, and
the boys mothers not only refused to
have rabbits cooked for the table, but
they did not even think them good
enough to give to the poor. But Plain
vile rabbits belonged to PlainVille peo-
pie, and not to strangers in. the city.
'TH tell you how we can stop it,
boys" said Joe Grant, as he and three
other boys erept slowly along to the
sehool-house. Lets go rabbit hunting
ourselves every fair day until there isn't
can laugh in our sleeves whenever we
see these city fellows coming into
town with their guns and game bags
''Goodr' exclaimed Frank Parks;
''but when can we do it except on Satur-
daysP''
''And what withp" asked Ned Nhiffie.
1--WE haven't guns, you know
.'We can go out for couple of hours
before school every morning." replied
Joe. CAS- for something to shoot with,
l can hit mark as big as a rabbit at
thirty yards with my bow and arrow. :"
''And t. said Harry Deveraux, shave
glass tube to blow steel-pointed darts
through, you know
''rm good shot with 8 stone,'' said
Ned.
''Father lets me fire his old brass pistol
on Fourth of july" said Frank, ''and 1
guess he'd let me FIRE shot out of it if he
were at home, if he knew it was to be
done in defense of the rights of the town.
His grandfather fought at Lexington,
you know"
'.All right, Them said Joe. ''Let's
start at six o. clock tomorrow morning;
the rabbits win be up and looking for
breakfast before we are. We can meet
at Widger's big oak tree on the Rock
Ridge road, go half way around town,
through the fields in less than two
hours, and get home, take breakfast
and reach school by nine. Is it q bar
gainp''
Yes said all the other boys, and
they talked the matter over until they
reached school, and again at the morn
ing recess, as we'll as at noon, during
the afternoon recess, and after school,
parting at last with an interchange of
injunctions to be reused by their families
servants at half past five.
Joe Grant, with his bow and three
best arrows, was at Widger's big oak
tree before six o'clock next morning,
and Frank Parks, coming from another
part of the town, arrived on time; but
both boys waited at least a quarter of
an hour for Ned Whiffie, and even then
Ned had to confess that he had forgot
ten to provide himself with stones.
Some more precious moments were
wasted in kicking the snow from the
edge of themacadamized road and loose
ming stones that were not too small but
just small enough. BY this time Har-
~ DeverauX arrived, and the boys leap
ed fence and followed its inner line
at a rapid rate in search of a rabbit
track
They soon found one and trotted be-
side it toward gully full of low shrubs.
AS they reached the edge of the little
hill above the gully Frank exclaimed,
There he isr'
And there he was sure enough-a
fine buck-rabbit nibbling buds from a
shrub rs peacefully as if there was not
boy within thousand miles. '@Whiz, !"
went Harry's dart, Joe's bowstring
twanged, stone flew rapidly across the
snow, Frank fathers brass pistol roared
gloriously, and away went that rabbit
across the gully and up the opposite hill
side, as if he had suddenly heard that
some farmers cabbage hole was open in
that direction.
For an instant the boys looked at one
another in surprise, but Joe exclaimed:
E4He must have been hit; let's get him!'
and dashed after the rabbit followed by
the other boys. Gaining the opposite
hill and turning his ankle on the way,
Joe saw the rabbit in another field
about quarter of a mile away and still
running; looking backward he saw Frank
and Ned at his heels, but Harry who was
fat and rather clumsy was on the ground
and in difficulties with running briar
vine; when finally he arose he display
ed a bloody nose and two eyes full of
tears.
Come on, ery-babyr' shouted Joe
in the most heartless way in the world.
Harry came and explained that he was
not crying about his nose, but because in
falling he had broken his darling glass
dart blower square in two, but Frank
cheered him by explaining that now he
had two dart-blowers instead of one.
would not pay to follow the fleeing rab-
at once began for another track.
Fortune favored them within five min
utes, for they came upon two tracks al
most parallel Joe and Frank followed
one and Ned and Harry the other, Har
ry mopping his nose and eyes with his
handkerchief until soon his face looked
like that of an appalhngly savage
Apache Indian. The tracks soon diverg-
ed, descending along the two sides of
small barren spur that jutted out toward
a swampy flat. Pretty soon Harry and
Ned heard Franks pistol and hoped he
had missed fire, because they wanted to
kill the first rabbit. Their track led
them beyond the spur and to a swampy
thicket as large as a city square; from
the centre of it rose dead tree or two.
Ned peered in as far as he could see the
track but he saw no rabbit; Harry Gag
erly stumbled farther arOaand the thick
1T, heard II noise, looked in, saw some
thing that looked like u rabbit, put his
tube to his lips and blew a mighty blast
In an instant he heard a strange sound,
half scream, half groan-
Il We hit himi' exclaimed Harry to
Ned, who joined him just then, ssbut /
never knew before that rabbits could
make such noise.
Give him another shot put the poor
creature out of his misery suggested
Ned. but then both boys heard Joe's
voice exei;liming:
stop that. viii youa You've shot me