The evening times., 1898-02-09
Gen. 9entry.s Jack Rabbits

y
A Kentucky gentleman, named Gen.
try. is affording considerable fun to
the inhabitants of Nebraska, on ac-
count of a sporting scheme which he
has taken up. He is an enthusiastic
hunter ahd lately conceived the idea
that he would like to hunt jack rab-
bits. SO he has arranged a 500-acre
lot I'm which the rabbit is to be chased,
and .partitioned off about five acres for
a breeding ground, which he has stock
ed with thirty head of rabbits. He paid
FIVE Atrotting mares for those rabbits.
and looks at them with satisfaction as
he thinks of the glorious time he will
have running them down when the
season opens. He also has a pet dog.
a cross between the greyhound and the
Irish setter, which he intends to start
after the rabbit. with confident ex-
pectations that the dog will be able to
catch up. Gen. Gentry is a member of
the National Fox Hunters Association.
1t might seem at first sight that this
scheme was a grand one. One of the
things with which England has always
reproached us is that we have no hunt
ing preserves. All the hunting we want
TO do we have to do in wild nature,
where there are no fences to jump and
pink coats are not necessary. There
fore, although Englishmen periodically
come over here to shoot big game and
gather fairy tales, tkey do not con-
slider that we caa really hunt at all.
one of the hindranees to hunting in
this country after the English plan has
hitherto been the danger of lawsuits
from outraged farmers. who object to
having hunting party tear through
their moving lot or cornfield. But if
a man wishes TO hunt on his own land,
so as not To spoil anyone else's crop, il
might appear that he was really doing
the patriotic and proper thing. a thing
calculated to remove reproach from
the reputation of the Goddess of Lib
erty in England. And that is Gen.
Gentry's idea To a dot.
But the Nebraskans are laughing
about it, nevertheless. In the first place,
they say that they do not see why any
man in his senses should want to breed
jack rabbits, much less pay horses for
them, Tor in Nebraska farmers would
as soon think Of paying their good
money for grashoppers, And Shen they
point out the fact that in a five-hun-
dred-acre lot a jack rabbit would make
about three jumps and come up hard
against the fence on the other side of
the lot. and that would end the hunt
before it was fairly begun. besides
ffvarr 4 H.
hounds. Miles of Nebraska prairie,
they insist, are necessary for the prop
er chasing of the lively jack. and any
idea of hunting him in the confined
space II a back yard or garden patch
should at once be dismissed. And there
is another thing. Speed is not the. only
thing which a hound needs to catch
jack rabbit. The beast is a wise one.
and he has way. when the hunt is in
full cry, of shooting off at an exact
right angle, so that the hound cannot
put brakes on and change his course
quick enough to capture his elusive
prey. Consequently the dog will he
sliding Off across the prairie trying to
stop himself. and maybe tripping up
the horseman, while the jack is get
ting TO cover like a true Artful Dodger.
The proprieties require two or more
hounds, one for the chase and one al
least for contingencies at right angles
The spectacle is likely To be presented.
therefore. Of Gen. Gentry and his pet
dog riding furiously on, unable to stop
themselves, until they strike the fence.
while "brer rabbit is safe i'm his hole
at the other end OF the lot
And there is another thing These
Nebraskans say that even should the
Kentucky sportsman succeed in catch
ing his hare. he viii not cook him
right Ii the jack is cooked in the same
way as an ordinary cotton-tail. the eat
er viii think he has gotten hold of the
Abraham Of all the rabbits. The jack
must be hunted On Nebraska soil with
Nebraska horses. by Nebraska hunters,
and cooked by Nebraska cooks, if his
true game flavor is to be secured and
preserved. and Gen. Gentry might just
as well give ii up.