Freeland tribune. (Freeland, Pa.) 1888-1921, 1891-10-22
WOODCHUCkS.
An Effective But Rather Cruel Way to
Disperse Thsm.

Disperse Thsm.
Last summer, writes a New Hamp-
shire boy, i had an interesting expert
ence with woodchucks. The mis-
chievous rodents nearly destroyed a
field of clover and then began to for
age in a bean-patch in which l had a
particular interest, as the proceeds
of it were expected to defray my ex-
penses a term or two at the village
academy. | set traps in vain. The
woOdchucks were too cunning to touch
my bait when they had field of
clover in which to forage. tried to
get shot at them, but they were too
wary for me. Tim, my dog, managed,
with my energetic assistance in de-
molishing the stone wall where they
had taken refuge, to catch two of the
tresspassers and shake them to death,
but that was all.
When l saw my academy tuition
falling before the woodchucks' sharp
teeth and adding to the sickness of
their fat sides, was fully reused. l
stoned up half dozen woodchuck
holes, but it availed nothing. The
rascals seemed just as numerous, and
devoured clover and beans just as
persistently as before. They had
reached an age and size when holes
were of small account. In several
instances the stones were removed. /
doubt il | ever succeeded in penning
single woodchuck.
Their time of feeding, I learned,
was early in the morning, and re-
solved to be in season for them. For
four mornings [ was in the field
watching for them, between 3 and
a o'clock. / succeeded in shooting
one. The willy fellows then began
feeding in the evening. 1t seemed as
if they kept spies on the lookout con-
stantly.
Just at dusk one day came upon a
solitary woodchuck helping himself
to my beans. l seized stone and
threw it, and the woodchuck fell. 1
ran forward to secure my game. The
next moment the little beast, which
had been merely stunned, rallied and
set his sharp teeth in my finger. |
checked him until he was glad to
let CO.
| was on the point of closing his
career then and there in summary
fashion when decided to wait bit
and make an experiment. | carried
the chattering, brown-coated animal
to the house, where Ismeared him all
over with tar and then attached an
old sleigh-bell to his neck by a stout
wire. L took him in a wire
cage, an angry, disgusted wood
chuck, to the bean-patch and gave
him his freedom. The instant he was
at liberty he began scratching at the
bell wire, rolling over and paving the
dirt in vain endeavor to clean him
self. Soon he ran off into the bean,
patch.
l went out to the field next morn
ing to see if my experiment had re-
suited in anything. There were no
fresh signs of ofdevastation in the beans,
and l was proceeding toward the
clover, following along little beaten
track made by the woodchucks in
their travels between their two feed
ing grounds, when came upon the
dead and mutilated body of the un-
lucky creature which / had tarred the
previous day.
From the signs judged that his
fellow-woodchucks, enraged at his
disgraceful appearance, had attacked
him in body and literally torn him
to pieces.
That was the end of the woodchucks'
depredations last summer. / never
saw sign of their work afterward.
They deserted the premises. L
learned, however, that a farmer liv-
ing few miles away was much an
noyed by woodchucks about that time,
and think it probable that they were
the same which had given me trouble
earlier in the season. Youths Com
nanion.