The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1898-03-13
THE RABBIT AS A FIGHTER.
How Kansas Bull Dog Met His Fate
on His own Heath.
From the Washington Post.

From the Washington Post.
Some few years ago a well-meaning per-
son made statement. on a certain con-
vivial occasion in this city, TO the effect
that the rabbit is a much misunderstood
animal. He insisted that all rabbits are
not the models of neekness they are pop
ularly supposed to be9 but that, on the
contrary, they had been known, when
herded in considerable numbers, to develop
a great deal of aggressiveness and actually
10 expel dogs and cats from the premises.
Quite number of instances in point com
ing within the speakers personal knowl-
edge and observation were given and the
contention established in a manner that
ought to have satisfied persons who could
adduce no facts whatsoever in rebuttal.
AS we remarked above, the occasion was
a convivial one. We may add however that
the hiarty which then prevailed was as
nothing compared with the merrLment
which grew out of the rabbit proposition
we have just described. Within few days
there appeared in the advertising columns
of the Post notices calling for rabbits to
take the place of mastiffs and bull ter
riers as watchdogs. There were notices of
lost, strayed or stolen rabbits offering re-
wards for their recovery and warning the
public that they were man-eaters of the
most ferocous type
The unfortunate person who had made
the statement in question one day re-
ceived large iron-bound box upon OPEN
ing which he found it TO contain dmin-
utive white rabbit, with pink eyes, bound
with a heavy trace chain and labeled
Take care; he eats peoplen AS we heard
the story at the time, it struck us that
the humorous gentlemen of the party
were having a great deal more fun than
usually grows out of a single incident
and that the hapless advocate OF the rab-
| bit as a fighting machine was receiving
punishment far beyond his sins. He had
at least furnished his companions with
| new idea which is more than can be said
| of everybody nowadays, and even if he
| had exaggerated the facts he had done
| so in defense of much misunderstood
and much-abused animal
But it now appears that the victim of
all this witticism may not have deserved
it wholly. We find in one of our most
esteemed and most reliable contempt -
ries the Emporia (Kan.) Republican, an
article which seems to suggest that there
| may be two sides to the rabbit argument:
IAN Emporia man heard a disturbance
in the night, and on getting up to see what
| was the matter found his bulldog engaged
| in a desperate struggle with a jack rabbit
| Concluding that it was dangerous to inter-
! fere, he went back into the house and
shut the door In short time the out
side struggle ceased, and looking up, he
| was surprised to see a jack rabbit look
| ing in over the transom of the front door
| In the morning he went out and found the
| bulldog dead in the front yard with marks
of the rabbit teeth all over his person,
bearing mute testimony to his brave and
| desperate struggle"
! Here is a simple and straightforward
chronicle of fact The Emporia Repubi-
can is one of the most careful and conser-
! vative of journals. We already know that
a Kansas farmer would rather be torn TO
| pieces by wild horses than tell a lie. Is the
| unfortunate person above referred to still
alive so that he may enjoy this vindica-
ton, or have Islander, practical jokes, and
persecution driven him to an early grave?