Butler citizen. [volume] (Butler, Pa.) 1877-1922, 1891-11-20
GROUNDING PARADISE.
A Region Where They Undermine r.
ways and Live with Gray Rabbits

A Region Where They Undermine Rail-
ways and Live with Gray Rabbits
They have an officer called the
grounding Inspector on the Peachbot-
tom railroad in Lancaster county, Pa"
said a travelling man to New York
Sun reporter. land he's a very impor-
tant officer. too The Peachbottom road
isn't very long nor very wide one.
and it runs from Peachbottom on the
Susquehanna river diagonally across
the southern corner of Lancaster That
is the paradise of the groundhogs
81 have been in the famous ground
hog pastures of Connecticut and New
Hampshire, where these animals an
nually eat up over seven hundred thou
sand dollars worth of clover for the
farmers, although there is price on
their heads and they are hunted night
and day; but those choice abiding
places for groundhogs are sparsely pop
ulated by them when compared with
that little neck of country through
which the Peachbottom railroad goes
They run the whole country there
They have honeycombed the meadows
with their burrows until farmer can't
walk over his farm without STUN bling
into one of tn. holes at every step. and.
not satisfied with that, have set about
in systematic way to undermine the
Peachbottom railroad They have bur
rowed it SO successfully that man had
to be appointed. so | was told at Ok
ford, to keep 4 constant lookout along
the line SO that no train will be dumped
into the ditch from track made un-
stable by the burrowing of groundhogs-
This inspector reports the scattering Of
a colony of twenty-five groundhogs in
one night, they having already
made an excavation in the railway en-
through The slate and shale soil Of
that part of the country is what the
grounding likes, as it raises big cIovor
and is just the thing to burrow IN
The presence of so many grounding
holes in that region has also caused
big increase in gray rabbits, according
to the farmers, although the rabbits
have always been more than plentiful
These rabbits do not burrow and have
consequently always have been more
or less exposed to the attacks
of hawks, foxes, hunters and owls
The grounding burrows, however.
they have suddenly discovered, offer
them excellent protection from their
enemies, and they seem to be living
as contentedly and undisturbed in
the burrows with the groundhogs as
the burrowing owls and prairie dogs do
on the western plains This arrange
ment is especially advantageous TO the
rabbits so far as foxes are concerned
as n fox will not enter n grounding
hole under any consideration
''The abundance of groundhosr, III
southern Lancaster county has also
given rise to new sport, which NJ n
much to recommend it This is the
matching of lighting dogs against
groundhogs, and scarcely night pa,'se>
that match is not fouyht III some
body's cellar or room fitted ~ for the
purpose Dogs are trained purpo.ely u
fight groundhog:;, and these who have
witnessed matches say that tie ground
hog is such fierce and ganv Fighter
when he is cornered and has tn fight
that the dog has to be good one with II
big reputation where the sports will
not give odds in favor of the ground
hog"