Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1888-10-04
TIE WOODCHUCK BURROW.
The Clever Devices Of the Woodchuck in
Constructing Its Habitation.

| Many years ego, during my boyhood
days, which were mostly spent Ill happy
old New England, did my share OF both
shooting and trapping woodchuoks, and
| even helped eat a roasted one on an oc-
casion. But also did more than this,
for several times had them as pets, and
closely studied their habits in nature and
| in confinement.
Through some perts of the State of
Connecticutit would be hard TO pick out
q clover field of any size that did not
have a woodchuck burrow in some part
of it. Sometimes they choose a site
SOMEWHERE under the stone wall which
surrounds the field, or if there is q large
rock, as is often the case, anywhere
about the middle Of the field, the animal
will burrow under this as very choice
location Finally the roots of an old
apple Or other tree are ofGen chosen for
its stronghold, the burrov being dug
down among them, tho owner seeming
to possess realizing sense that no one
| would ever dream of etten pting so dis
lodge him from such quarters.
As is the case with the excavations
nc ade for their hahitations by most fos-
serial mann mals, the burroV OF q wood
chuck at first descends obliquely into
the earth, thea passes nearly horizontal
Iy for several fesf, riss5 moderately for
the last half Of it's length, to terminate
| in quite q spacious and round chamber,
which constitutes the Giving room" of
the entire family. In it the female brings
forth hsr Hitter, and the young remain
| there until they pair off and dig their
own homes elsewhere.
| Sach burrow may be at least thirty
fees in length, SO long that one never
| thinks of digging WoOdcnuck out, but
I have seen farmers bring up two Or three
| barrels of water on q cart aud drown the
occupant of this sabterranean establish
ment ct short notice, and rejoice must
| heartily If the pair and perhaps seven or
eight quarter-grown young are caught
| in at the same time. Very often I have
| aptured them in steel traps set az the
mouth of the buTrow, taking the precau-
ton 10 sprinkle it all carefully over with
fine dirt. One old woodchuck, / remem-
| Der, constructed his burrow almost in
the center OF twenty acre clover lot,
aud every attempt TO capture him ii any
kind of trap utterly failed. 1 w2s the
rarest thing, IN the world to even catch
him standing up at the entrance of his
burrow during the day, but frequently we
would see MIN just head and shoulders
out OF III.
It see.ns to me must have fired thirty
or forty times al him under such circum-
stances from the outer side of The stone
wall which surrounded the field, and that
too with heavy Old-fasbioned muzzle-
loading Kentucky rife, which at 70 to
100 yards ~as good nearly every time for
all small game. But here every shot
failed; cloud of dust would puff up r.
the very entrance of the bnrrow each time
and would confidently walk oyer TO pick
him out, but no, next dag at tioou rs was
there again, Looking out e. stDti9ng as
ever. He was captured finally py my
tying Colts revolver TO q stout stake
driven down within 2 few feet OF the
bUrrow and training the nim dogu the
entrance, and then tying g long striRg
70 the trigger, / waited behind ths vail
till he agaih showed himself waen the
SUCCESS of the device sealed his doom.
There is Little to Encourage Writer'S.
4 girl who has written good many
magazine stories, confded TO me writes
Arlo Bates in the Book-buyer) that she
had been told that the readers for the
magazines had 4 system OF secret marks
which they put on rejected manuscript,
so that, although 10 an ordinary eye a
manuscript appeared perfectly clean, the
initiated could at once tell whether il had
been offered to al sditor before II COPY
my whole manuscript every time I have
to send it out" she concluded. sit is an
awful bother, but anyway get ahead of
their tricks" l have been guilty many
luckless day of furnishing an | starred
manuscript with q clean first page, where
on did not appear half-erased number,
and a pepoiled memorandum of the value
OF the stamps inclosed, but to rewrite
whole story would be too much for me.
Telling OF reflections, one Y, the editor of
q magazine, was much annoyed by writ
ers who insisted upon personal inter
views. His own literary career had been
a pretty hard one, and he hit upon the
plan of utilizing the records of his mis-
haps for his relief in the present He
had preserved the rejection notices that
had escorted his manuscript back from
numerous Offices; and all these he neatly
arranged in chronological order, so far as
they bore any dates, in large scrap
book. When an importune scribbler
forced his way into the sanctunn, x was
accustomed to say, with the most DEUS
i've courtesy: "W1Ll you be kind enough
to excuse me one minute Until finish
this letter." The scrap book lay open
on the desk. The unsuspecting visitor
would glance at the book, and there his
eye first met in large letters the words,
'My Reflections" and by the time the
editor was ready to talk he generally
found meeker and sadder man than
the one who had insisted upon seeing
him.