Waterbury evening Democrat. [volume] (Waterbury, Conn.) 1887-1895, 1893-05-02
A RABBIT DRIVE.
One Of the Annual Round-Ups of
the California Pest.
verybody In the County Turns Out and
Helps to Hunt Down and Slaughter
tho Destroyers of Their Vine
yards and Orchards.

In a recent account of the annual |
spring rabbit drive the San Francisco |
Chronicle thus depicts the scene:
The pen consists of two immense |
wings over half-nile each in length, |
made of rabbit-proof fence firmly fas- |
tened to posts At the entrance is n |
gate leading to d chute some thirty |
feet into the Enclosure and to the cor
raj proper, surrounded by a high wire
screen fence
THE moving line was, ut the start,
fully five miles long, extending in the
form of a sclni-circle. The people
closed rapidly, and when the line con-
tractcd it formed such black mass of
many thousands that it reminded one
of the migration of nations in the mid
die ages, when many tribes were leav-
ing their seats and wandered toward
moro congenial homes. The excite
ment increased with every minute, and
the noise was becoming dreadful.
Yells of the men, screams of the
women mingled together with neigh
ing horses and pitiful cries of the rab-
bits
The jacks were driven now by thou
sands toward the pen. The prairie was
fairly alive with them as they, aston
ished and bewildered, ran to and fro,
with no hope of escaping, no chance of
avoiding the cruel club of the hunts
man
lust before the pen we sighted
curious spectacle. At once and with
out any apparent reason the rabbits
began to run in n circle, or rather in a
,eries of concentric circles. Taking
INTO consideration that there were
thousands of them moving with ex-
LraorliEarv rnpidity, it can easily be
| imagined how curious this perform
| ance must have been. The dust rose in
| clouds. and this occurrence, together
with the swift circular motion of the
maddcncd animals, would make any
one believe that whirlwind was ris-
lung We almost saw hurricane ap-
preaching, and SO natural was the ap-
| pearance of it that many present
| grasped their hats to prevent them be-
ing carried away by the would-be
wind One minute later and the
scenery was completely changed. Each
of the concentric circles became dis
solved. wedgcd itself into the opening
of the pen and disappeared in the
chute The rabbits were in.
What happened inside defies de-
scription Men, women, boys and
girls pushed in. shouting, yelling,
swinging their clubs and sticks, ma l.
dened, wild, excited. Above in the
skies, the eagles, vultures and hawks
screamed as If waiting for the prey
soon to be left for their use. Outside
the corral the neighing of horses aug
mcnted still more this pandemonium,
i J, - 81. IL: -,
had something almost human in its in
tensity 1t was like cry of little
children, so natural and so pitiful that
many women present put their fingers
into their ears so as not to listen to
this seemingly pathetic appeal for
mercy.
''In twenty minutes the slaughter
inside the Enclosure was over. The
rabbits huddled near the side of the
pen in dense masses, and here they
were easily killed. Some of them tried
| to force their heads under the fence
and were, of course, also easily
reached. Hundreds of others rushed
against the wire-screen fence, appar
II emily to commit suicide. They were
t also soon dispatched. None escaped
from the corral, it was so easy to clut
81 them, yet the slaughter was not &C
complished without some fendish cru
{ city Instead of killing the ANNA
some persons-the toughs and thugs o:
81 Fresno-would capture it, cut off it.
ears or break off its leg, and let the
rabbit run. Nothing could show bet
ter the cruel disposition of some per
sons than this wanton sport.
After the battle was over and the
atmosphere became clear of flying ful
the work of counting the victims wa
commenced. A dozen of men or so be
longing to the Rabbit Drivers associa
ton appeared on the scene armed will
long shears to cut the ears of tn,
killed rabbits AS the county pay
one and one-half cents for each pair o
ears the association can make som,
money, at least enough to cover all tn,
expenses Besides the jaclx-rabbits
carcasses are sent to San Francisco
where they find a ready market amons
the Latin population of that city. TIL
cotton tails are divided among tn
/ hunters. The number of rabbits kille,
] in this drive was thirty-five hundre,
/ outside and seven thousand inside tn
corral"