The St. Johns herald., 1894-02-08
A RABBIT DRIVE.
One, Of the Annual Round-Ups ol
 the California Pest.
Everybody in the County Turns Out and Helps to Hunt Down and Slaughter the Destroyers of Their Vine
 yards and Orchards.

Tn 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-mile each in length, made of rabbit-proof fence firmly fas- tened to posts. At the entrance is a gate leading to chute some thirty feet into the inclosure and to the cor ral proper, surrounded by high wire screen fence.
 ''The moving line was, at the start, fully five miles long, extending in the form of semi-circle. The people closed rapidly, and when the line con- tracted it formed such black mass of many thousands that it reminded one of the migration of nations in the mid de ages, when many tribes were leav- ing their seats and wandered toward more congenial homes. The excite ment increased with every minute, and the noise was becoming dreadful Tells 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.
 ''Just before the pen we sighted a curious spectacle. At once and with out any apparent reason the rabbits began to run in circle, or rather in a series of concentric circles. Taking into consideration that there were thousands of them moving with ex- traordinary rapidity, it can easily be imagined how curious this perform clouds, and this occurrence, together with the swift circular motion of the maddened animals, would make any one believe that whirlwind was ris- ing. 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, wedged itself into the opening of the pen and disappeared in the chute. The rabbits were in.
 What happened inside defes' de- scription. Men, women, boys and girls pushed in, shouting, yelling, swinging their clubs and sticks, mad 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 mented still more this pandenonium, and inside the cry of the clubbed rabbits had something almost human in it's in- tensity. It was like a 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 inclosure 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- ently to commit suicide. They were also soon dispatched. None escaped from the corral, it was so easy to club them, yet the slaughter was not ac- complished without some fiendish cru city. Instead of killing the animal some persons-the toughs and thugs of Fresno would capture it, cut off it's ears or break off it's 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 fur the work of counting the victims was commenced. A dozen of men or so be- longing to the Rabbit Drivers associa- tion appeared on the scene armed with long shears to cut the ears of the killed rabbits. As the county pays one and one-half cents for each pair of ears the association can make some money, at least enough to cover all the expenses. Besides the jack-rabbits' carcasses are sent to San Francisco, where they find a ready market among the Latin population of that city. The cotton tails are divided among the hunters. The number of rabbits killed in this drive was thirty-fve hundred outside and seven thousand inside the corral.''