News and citizen. [volume] (Morrisville, Vt. ;) 1881-current, 1886-11-18
BAD FOR THE GROUND HOG.
TartleS, Kerosene, and Candlewicx dis
place Guns, Dogs. and Traps in Hunt
Ing IL.
TFrOm the n. Y. SUM-

lI1OHl tlIC ~" l. Jun.
The ground hog, or woodchuck, is q
stupid appearing rodent, but it bellies
its appearance The ground hog knows
a good deal. No one can deny 1t who
has ever seen a ground hog disappear in
his hole on some sunny sidehill, and
who has thereupon sat down in an ada
cent hiding place to wait until the
idiotic- looking animal pops its head out
again to have it off. This watch may
last half day, but for some reason the
ground hog does not appear. The
watcher picks himself no and goes away
in disgust. Ii he will stop, however,
after he has passed out of gunshOt OF
the hole. and will look back, he will
see the innocent ground hog sitting up
on his launches at his door, and evil
IDENTITY chuckling gleefully
A hunter once surprised ground hog
in clover field near village. 1t made
for home, which was near. The hunter
got two shots at it, and at the mouth of
its burrow it fell. 1t was evidently in
it's death throes, but it dragged itself
half wav into its hole before it died.
The hunter hurried to get his prize, and
as he was about to put his hands on 1t,
it disappeared in the hole with sudden
movement, which indicated that it had
been pulled in. Before the dead wood
chuck was beyond the hunters reach in
the burrow he seized it's hind legs and
began pulling it back. Then he knew
something was pulling at the other end
with as much anxiety to get the dead
animal in the hole as he was to get it
inf ro,,,iraI oil Of +ha hunt arfc
strength to overcome the efforts of
whatever was tugging at the other end,
and after long struggle he succeeded
in dragging his game out. What was
his surprise to see live ground hog, the
dead ones mate, with its teeth fastened
in the nose of the dead one, and bracing
itself and Juggling with all it's might to
save the body of its mate from the
hunter. So determined was the saga
cious animal that it was dragged out of
the burrow by its hold on the dead
ones nose, and it fell victim to its
faithfulness.
1t being difficult to success 'ully shoot
woodchucks, and a long and tedious
job, usually, to dig them out of their
deep and intricate burrows, which they
enlarge and engineer in all directions,
as fast, almost, as a man can dig the
earth away behind them, the most sue
cessful and easiest way to capture them
in New Jersey, until John Mackerly
of Pellettown turned the light of his
genius on the ground hog chase, was to
trap them. John Mackerly is veteran
woodchuck hunter, and enjoys the title
of champion. One day last season,
after long dig after big ground hog,
he was returning home when he STUN
bled over a land turtle. Mackerly had
stumbled over scores of land turtles be-
fore without any result but few vigor
GUS remarks peculiar to that part of
Jersey, and what peculiar inspiration
there was in this particular turtle Mack
erly does not know AS soon as he
stumbled over it and looked around and
saw what it was, the idea stood out be-
fore him as clear as the gilt label on an
applejack bottle:
:. Sam Hill !" he said. "They're
just the thing to ketch ground hogs
with, and here they've ben wastin' ever
sence the flood p
John Mackerly caught up the turtle
and struck for home. He bored a hole
through one edge of its shell, near the
tail. Then he took ball of candle
wick and unwound two feet of the
wick, and fashioned it so no more would
He tied the unwound piece
through the hole in the turtles shell.
The ball he soaked in kerosene. Then
be started for the nearest ground hogs
hole. He put the turtle at the mouth
Of the hole, and touched a match to the
kerosene-soaked ball of candlewick. A
small bonfire at once blaZed up. The
turtle plunged into the depths of the
ground hog burrow. The bonfire went
IN after it and urged the turtle on.
stood at the mouth of the bur
row, with an axe hanging poised over it
Presently a wild-eyed woodchuck almost
bounded out of the hole It seenrod
dazed. 1t paused to think. The axe
came down on its skull, and the success
Of the tirebrand prOpelling turtle as a
ground hog hunter was assured. When |
.he turtle, it is presumed, reached the |
confines of the ground hogs home, it
urned and came back, the fire in the
ear rendering lingering in the cool re-
reat inadvisable. The turtle came out |
1t the mouth of the burrow. The bon
ire was extinguished, and the scheme
eady to be taken to another hole.
That afternoon Mackerly captured
even fat woodchucks by means of the
ire ball and the turtle Now every !
ground hog hunter has his turtle or
wo, and his illuminating and acceler-
ting ball of candlewlck. AS a corse-
luence the markets of northern New
Jersey are glutted with ground hog.