The morning call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1878-1895, 1892-11-23
A BLACK HARE.
Its Fleetness, Its FriendIiness and 1t:
Unfortunate Death.


Unfortunate Death.
Scranton (Ps.) Cor. New York Sun.
"While / was burning charcoal in the
Sullivan woods one September" said Memo
A. Martin of Fly Creek, my only eompan-
ion was yellow monRrel dog named Tige.
Tige often got lonesome because l was too
busy to pay any attention to him, and he
killed time and amused himself by soaring
up hares and giving them race through
the woods. 1 frequently got glimpses of
the fleeing animals as they leaped between
the trees when Tige was in pursuit, and one
day saw coal black hare bounding away
from the dogs voice as though it had been
fired at All the other hares were brown at
that time and imagined that my eyes had
deceived me until few days afterward
when saw the black one again. 1t looked
blacker than before, and the next morning
l took q gun TO the pit with the intention Of
shooting the hare and sending 1t TO man
in Wiliamsport, who was making a collec-
ton OF stuffed native animals. The black
hare didn't show itself in couple of weeks
and L took the gun to the house and decided
not to shoot 1t.
"a few mornings afterward l saw the
black hare squattlnR on top of the cOalpit
when l went into the woods. 1t bounded
OF at my approach and Tige chased il till
he got tired. The next morning | found the
black hare nibbling at some apple parings
that had dropped near the pit. Ii dashed
away when it saw ME. and il led Tige on
another long race through the woods. 1t
was on top of the pit again the next MORN
ing, and began to think il came there on
purpose to let the dog chase it. Two or
three mornings later found the black hare
and brown one nibbling at some more of
my apple peelings. They made off when
they saw the dog The black one soon
dashed OUT OF sight, but the brown one was
lame and Tige caught it and shook it to
death. The dog had good many more
races after the black hare during the fall.
The hare was not far from the pit nearly
every morning when went to the woods,
aud 1t got so that IL would run only Just
fast enough TO keep few feet ahead of
Ilge, and that leased the dog so much that
ne tired himself out every forenoon.
by the 1st OF December all the brown
hares became white, but the black ones
coat didn't change particle. 1t came
around every new coaipit L made, and i
decided to kill it for q specimen. / carried
shotgun to the woods the next morning,
aud at sight of me the black hare leaped
from the top of the pit and bounded
through the snow as If it knew that the gun
was dangerous, and / didn't shoot. T1ge
took after 1t, and the hare. instead OF letting
hlm almost catch up. lett him lar In the
rear, and the dog yelped at the hare's
unusual conduct as though his heart would
break.
II knew pretty near where the hare had
been in the habit of circling around when
Tige was chasing II, and l went off in the
woods few rods and got upon stump. In
little while l saw tho hare's black coat
leaping over the snow directly toward me.
The Cog was yelping off to the right and the
hare stopped, listened a moment, ran short
distance and stopped again. l banged
away at il with the right barrel and it
eroucbed in the snow. Then / fired the
lett barrel and the hare gave three or four
leaps to the left and disappeared under q
fallen tree. / ran and grabbed it by the ears.
and when pulled 1t from under the log it
kicked and Qulyered, and found that not a
shot had touch ed it. L petted the hare, ana
when Tige came yelping up he smelt of it
and went to licking its face. He didn't
offer to bite ii and lot ii 60 to see what he
would do. Instead of running away the
hare began to play with the dog. and in a
few minutes 1t followed Tige and my back
TO the pit
"TIge and the hare made great deal OF
one another around the different coalplts all
winter. They romped and raced in the
snow, aud every night Tige eoaxed
the hare to 60 home with him, but
could never get IL any further than
the edge of the wood until along in
March, when 10 followed him to the house
about sunset. A neighbor's hound made
for the hare in this dOoryard while Tige
was scratching on the kitchen door to be let
In. Tige didn't notice the hound until it
| had caught the hare and broken its back.
and then he pitched at the hound, set his
teeth in its throat, and kept his jaws tight
| till the hound was ehoked TO death. / had
to put the hare out OF its misery. and it was
month before Tige got over mourning for
it, He hunted and whined for 1t every
morning around the eoalpit, and / never
| saw so unhappy dog. l had the hare's
skin stuffed, and when Tige saw it for the
first time he licked the face and head till he
discovered il wasn't alive. and after that
couldn't get him To go near it,