Barbour County index., 1885-04-17
A BATTLE WITH JACK RABBITS,
Pertlous and Exciting Spore In the wild
West-The Denver Jack Rabbit Club.
Denver Tribune Republican,

Perilous and Exciting Spore I'm the wild
West-The Denver Jack Rabbit Club.
Denver rTrfbune-Republican.1
Denver's Jack Rabbit Club, an associa-
ton which annually makes an excursion
and has for its object the keeping down of
| the census of the rabbit race in Colorado.
returned few days ago from its animal
Staying trip, and its members have settled
down to their regular business.
The ground selected for the battle this
year was in San Luis Park. The party left
this city in special car, which was well
stocked with demijohns, wicker baskets,
kegs and cigar boxes, none of the packages
being empty or taken along for. pure orna-
mentation. The departure was made un-
der cover Of night, and the following day
they arrived at Wittemore's ranch at Villa
Grove, where a headquarters was estab-
lished. The following day a little desul-
tory shooting was INDUCED in, but the
grand central hunt was set for the second
day.
The grand central hunt is always, of
course, the principal feature Of these ex-
cursions, and is in its details very care
fully arranged and carried out. Its ar
rangement consists, first, in the choice of a
Captain who commands the whole affair,
that honor this year falling upon Mr..
Suess. Captain Suess divided his COM
pany into two parties, with a leader for
each, and with each party was a horse
man provided with immense bags for
game. In the rear of all were two wagons,
which were to take the game from the
horsemen as soon as it accumulated.
Captain Suess formed his company into
two ranks, each headed by his leader, and
at the word of command the company
started forward to the scene of carnage.
As they approached the rabbit ground,
the two lines diverged to the right and
left, marching in a diagonal course each
way, and sooninclosing upon one side an
area embracing savera acres. As the
lines advanced they heightened, until at
the proper signal the leaders directed their
course toward each other, and an i'm
mense circle was formed which, gradually
narrowing, corralled an army of rabbits
which had been startled by the tramp of the
enemy, who had encompasssd their city as
the walls Of Babylon were once encom-
| passed.
Then came the moment of excitement,
and each man grasped his gun, fearing that
| ne WOulu Seb nervous ana nre before he
ought to, and possibly shoot q neighbor
over on the other side Of the circle. The
rule is that the first shot shall be fired by
the man toward whom a rabbit runs, and
in the event OF his failure to hit it the next
man takes pop at the jack, and so on.
This rule was as strictly adhered to as
possible; bnt, after the first two shots, the
| game ran in such lively style that the
country all around was ringing with the
report Of musketry in a very few minutes,
and the ground was strewn with dead rab-
bits so rapidly that the riders were kept
busy picking them up while riding around
like crazy cavalrymen.
The result Of the hunt was some twelve
hundred rabbits, to say nothing of q small
puncture in the forehead of Johnny Kieffer
who caught stray shot, and who is as
fond of the scar as one-legged soldier is
Of his missing limb.
The result of this years excursion is
about the same in point Of dead as was that
Of last year, but the same result took long
er time by day last year.
The private shoot of the members on the
| first day amounted to naught, as they left
their game out all night and the Coyotes
came out and devoured it