The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1900-02-03

.ne sAout came down the long l.ue to
Hharch, and, like trained soldiers, the line
started off with uniform step. soon the
lSu' ana LETT wings, composed of the
no. semen ana the more experienced
quickened time, and thus gave the line
'he crescent form At first there was a
suIeh silence along the entire line; moth.
lHS save the tingling of sleigh-bells
tracking or sage brush, and the dull tread
III the snow. There was nothing exciting
hoVAIng to see, and finding ones way
through the larger punches of sagegrass
atIu u4ep snow was growing monotonous
but there came shout from the left
wing. out in front frightened iackrabbits
could De seen here and there, beWildered
ana leaping from cover to cover among
the sagegrass. The shouts increased. and
the number of rabbits was accommodating
IN front, until they could be seen darting
ABOUT everywhere.
As the drivers advanced the excitement
increased, likewise the rabbits in number
The shouts of the children. women and
men rang out over the desert and the
rabbits We're running hither and thither
some trying to break through the right
and left wings, while others dashed up
under the feet of the horses to the We
hlc.es and sleighs, and We're beaten back
by the drivers. AT length these fieet-foot-
Ell animals were being beaten and driven
so slow that they We're overtakeu and
Killed by blow from a club in some dri-
vers's hand
The right and left wings came to halt
and then began to close in. This brought
the drivers along the entire line closer
together, and not too quick, for the hun
dreds of rabbits in front had found an
obstacle. and, turning back, made a des-
perate attempt to break through the
lines But the shouting and frequent use
or the clubs along the line turned them
forward again. Then there was closing
up until. in places there were double
lines, and the people left their vehicles
and sleighs and horses and, clubs in
hand, tiercely showed the mass of animals
before them. Suddenly there was ex-
IRENE excitement down the left wing
and the rabbits turned in that direction
like a stream, and the shouts and WELD
ing of clubs showed that some thing out
of the ordinary had oCcurred but the
men along the line held their places At
last the tide was turned and the excited
animals rushed to the front again. closely
pursued by all the hunters On the right
and left were white screens, about two
feet in hight, which came together grad
ually in the center The ra bbits would
dash up against these. and dozens of
them. while repeatedly attempting to get
through, were feled by blows from clubs.
CLOSE up! Close upE' came the COM
mand, and with sticks and clubs-and
many who had lost their clubs had seized
rabbits by the hind legs and We're using
them for clubs-the drivers beat and
slaughtered and drove the entire band
down the center through a narrow outlet
which led into the corral. The gate was
closed, and within an area of a quarter
of an acre, which was fenced by pickets,
fastened together in sections for this very
purpose, the hundreds of rabbits were
lcapiug and bounding over one another
and battcTng themselves against the fence
in an attempt to escape
After the crowd had watched this eX-
element until satisfied, the men and boys
climbed over the fence among them and
the massacre began. When the work was
completed ana not a live rabbit remain
ed, the counting was begun. Exactly 521
were dead inside the corral, and probably
200 more lay dead outside, and the cap
tain said that fully half of the drove had
made their escape through the left wing
This was considered a poor drive, and
very unsatisfactory, but was charged to
the fact that it had been several days
since the snow had fallen, and that it was
packed too much for good rabbit-drvlng.
The largest single drive made here re-
suited in killing $500 rabbits, and the
next was fatal to 900