River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1895-06-06
AN OLD woopchuck.s FATE.
A Long Island Farmers Experisnce-Pa>
tience vs.. Instinct

thence vs.. Instinct
"Spealxin' OF woodchucks," said an
old Long Island farmer the other day,
reminds me of some curious incidents
with EN-. 'Twarn't more'n fifty years
ago when they were as thick as flies on
this island, an we ate them instead of
rabbits. an made mufiers an mittens
out of their skins. They was mighty
warm, too, those old woodcbuck nit
tens and mufflers. When man wanted
a big fellow he only had ter walk
down into tie nearest field and take
his pick out of two or three. They
was so plentiful that il was nc troubla
TO kill 'em. But they have been killed
off now so that there amt many more
'roun'. Once in awhile a big
fellow brings up litter into the
lower clover lot, and we have to root
'em out.
Ever hunt woodchucks? Wa-al, 10
amt much e. they be young ones. II
You wait long enough you'll catch
them, runnin' across the lot in broad
daylight. If you are good shot you
can bring one down. They're tough,
an a big fellow will carry away a big
load of shot. But if you get hold of a
big fellow. an old veteran, SO to speak,
you'll find it no easy job 10 dislodge
him. He's too KNOWN cuss to live.
He'll only eat your clover at night, an
Lordl how much he can get away with
in one night! In the daytime he keeps
close into his hole and laughs at you.
Dig him out? WAL, yes; you can try
it; but he'll dig a great deal faster on
the other end than you will, and take
it easy at that. Mind We. I'm talkin'
of old ones-those that know all the
tricks of the business. The wood
ehucks that We find on Long Island are
wiser than those most anywhere else.
cause they have 10 be cunnin' and
shrewd not TO get killed. They're so
close to civilization that they learn
new tricks all the time.
"a few years ago cunning old fell
low took up his home in that clover
field just off the lower med5ers, an We
had the hardest time to kill him We can
imagine. i guess afore we got through
with him he cost us bout one hundred
dollars-that is fur clover destroyed.
and labor at one dollar and half per
day lost in trying TO capture him.
Twarn't any use layin' in wait for him
with a shotgun. lie was too wise to
poke his nose out of the hole. But ev-
cry night he'd come out and eat clover
fast enough. He brought up seven lit
tiers of young chucks IN that field, but
we killed 'em all except the old one.
He'd bring a new mate with him to his
home every season, but she'd get shot
Ii trying TO save her young ones But
We could never get shot at the primo
mover of the whole trouble. We wait
ID fur him on moonlight nights, an
i'd get a shot at him onct But guess
we only crippled him. an he never ven
tured out again except on dark nights.
We had no chance then. We tried to
dig him out. but after three days of
steady work we got tired. Then we
started to burn and smoke him out, but
il amt no easy matter to make smoke
70 down hill and get into all of the
holes that woodchuck can make.
Finally, we decided to drown the old
ritter out. We got together all the
old pork and oil barrels that we could
sind an filed them full of water.
Then, when everything was ready, ST
an Jake, my two sons, stood ready
with pitchfork and shotgun, while l
poured the water into the hole. WAL.
sir, that hole held more water than
any millpond.
at took the hull ten barrelsful TO
bring il up to the surface, and then,
lest as ! put in the last pailful, that
nesky old chuck showed his nose. ST
iabbed at him with the pitchforlx, and
Jake shot the handle to pieces as ne
banged away at the critics. But 10
warn't no use The water soaked
away rapidly, and the woodchuclS
went down again, grinning our
failure.
But we warn't so easily discour-
aged. Next day we added five more
barrels and all the tubs aud pals
round the house. Then we began to
food the hole again. This time we
had plenty of water, but there was no
woodchuck to appear. The water
came up to the surface and flowed ont
of the hole, but no woodchuck. We
thought he had left his home for good
after his first ducking. But no; he
came out again that night. an ate
more clover than usual jest as eff to
spite us WAL, we found out in time
that the critter was so wise that he
had dug his hole way up toward hill
so that he could sit up there and watch
US pouring water in at the other end.
This put a stop TO any attempt to
drow him odt.
1T was 81 that rugged up the trap
that finally caught the old fellow. He
took big stone weighing bout fifty
pounds and suspended it right over the
hole. Then he fixed little stick down
below fist as he would set rabbit
trap. The old muskrat couldn't get
out of the hole noway without hitting
that stick, aud-well, the thing hap
pened two nights later. The first night
The critter didn't venture out. but the
second morning the stone was down,
an the old fellow was crushed beneath
it, We amt mad none in the fields
since then" IN. Y. Post.