St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1888-08-04
TIE GROUND-HOG.
An Animal That Is a Good Deal
Smarter Than He Looks
How Que Amused lIInsclf With . Trap
Another Had L0ts of Fun With q
Flock ot Sagaci0ua
Crows.

noS asked STATE Iflnter u. r. Mey-
crs. ''If not. don't you ever do il. In
the first place, if You catch your
ground-hog You won't know what to
to do with il. for the skin is no good
and the meat will spoil soap grease.
In the second place. you would never
catch ono, for although the ground-hog
looks like a ciuckle-head he's smarter
than mustard plaster. You will only
risk Your trap if You try to catch a
ground-hog. for the chances are that
the sly old hibcrnator will come out of
his hole. spring the trap with a stick
or by tossing stone on the plate and
then lug il of 4 mile or so and bury it.
A friend of mine once set a trap to
catch a grounding, and the ground
hog limited TO him two or three times
that he didn't want the trap around
his digsings by caiyins it away half
mile and hanging it on bush. But
my friend thought he knew what was
best for that grounding than the
patiently protesting rodent did him.
self. and So kept on setting the trap
right in front Of the entrance to the
wood-chuck's dwelling-place.
''Onc morning he went to look for
il. and when he got within long gum
shot of the hole he saw the ground-hog
dragging the trap by its chain off
across the field in tho direction of my
friends barn. The owner of the barn
thought he would amuse himself by
quietly watching the ground-hog to see
where he intended to hide the trap.
Ihe grounding dragged the trap
straight 10 the barn. which was nearly
half mile away, and INV friend crept
along within easy distance of it. The
woodchuck took the trap around the
corner Of the barn. Ny friend had a
young bird-dog chained in a kennel
behind the barn. He crept on after
the ground-hog. and pecklng around
the corner, saw the cute little beast
steal up TO one side of the kennel and
slyly shove the trap in front Of the en-
trance. Then it gave the kennel kick
with both hind feet. Out bounced the
dog. slapped both fore feet in the trap.
and snap she went The dog was
caught. and while his master was re-
leasing the yelping pup the ground
hog strobe away. and my friend says it
looked exactly as if it were shaking
all over with ghoulish glee. The trap
per took that hint right home with him
and made up his mind that unless he
quit trapping for that ground-hog it
wonid be trapping for him next, and
So he quit.
MAY he you never went out after |
crows with a gun? Don't 90 and waste |
your time doing that either. Crows
have nice eye for gun and big |
hose for powder. You can make a |
wooden gun SO near like a real gun
that il would fool the best gunmaker
in the country. but it won fool crow.
lou can shoulder that wooden gun and
start out thinking You will scare all the
crows ont Of the neighborhood on sight,
but they are on to YOU at once. They
will sit right still on the fence.
IN the cornfield. or in the tall, dead
tree. and just lie back and howl
with JOY at the way you are being
fooled yourself. and won't 90 away
until you hit them with stone. The
crows will get up and sail away for the
next county before you come within half
a mile of them. Why. if YOU should
shake hands with charcoal man TO-
day. and year from to-day sit down
on barrel of saltpeter. you couldn't
get within rifle range of a crow after
that. They detect the smell of that
Of charcoal and saltpeter
at once. and think you've got gun
powder about You. They know what
powder can do. and off they 60.
Speaking Of crows and ground-hocs
puts HE in mind of a funny thing saw
once while l was driving to Bedford
Springs. 1t was in July, and the road ,
was hot aud dusty. l was driving
along. thinking what colossal fame and ,
fortune awaited the man who should
invent beer keg that you could carry ,
lnder Your wagon seat. and that would
keep beer ice-coid and fresh on tan !
while The mercury was dallyiny with
hc top of the thermometer, when l +,
iear,i lot of crows making a big fuss :
'ver in field of wheat stubblc Off to /,
me side OF the road. There were about {
fifty in the flock. and they were
about a certain spot on the /
ield. and individual members were
iarting up and down and to and fro.
md al the time using language that 1
would have Lecn shocking il 5
into English. The Noise