Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1900-04-12

Texas Farmers suffer Great LOSSES
Because of These Little Animals.

Fr,.m tL" Chicncn Record
Thor. has been such an increase in the
rlmbvr of prairie dogs in the Panhandle
section Of Texas during the past few years
thai many farms will have To be- abandoned
unless some method of eNtermluatiuE the
pest l. adopted sr"n. The" lu'l" 80 - "a
Law multiplied MANIFOLD SINCE the r"u
has p. come settled up with st0ckmrn !
farmers. The other wild animals. such as
oyut.S and wolves, have been driven out.
+ and the prairie dogs now have Uud.sputcd
sway In some parts If the Panhandle
th-r- are colonies Of prairie dogs which
literally overrun the country. There are
often a. many as $500 Of them found ocCu-
~ ing a few acres of ground Tn" cu!tiNa-
ton Of wheat around Abilene AMI other
localities of the Panhandle Is seriously I'M
:tp.ird by tho destruction wrought by the
little animals. 1t frequently happens hat
colonies of the prairie dogs are established
Fright in the center of large wheat field.
And the animals forage upon the growing
grain. destroying the crop.
Many farmers and stOckmen have under
taken the task of DISCRIMINATING the prairie
dogs on their own land. Among those who
have made a war against the pest is Frank
Sterrett. prominent stockman of Abilene.
LAST year he expended 1890 in exterminat-
ring prairie dogs on his ranch All the dogs
'pu about sixty sections of land were killed.
,ThiS year he reports that the dogs have in
Naded the land from the adjoining territory
nor Strengthening of the animals around
the outer edges. He claims that the money
expended in killing the animals is good
investment. as the increase in the yield Of
grass cOmpensateS for the outlay. The IA
SVnrite method of killing the dogs farms
where livestock is not running at large
is hy poison a stockman living at Sweet
water invented a trap for catching the ami
mails several months ago, and it is rapidly
coming into general use This trap IS
placed over the holes made by the ami
mails. and captures them when they Gomez
to the surface. Thousands of live dogs
have been captured in this manner. and in
some places they skinned and their
skins marketed in St. Louis and Chicago
for good prices.
The fact that thousands of acres of grass
and growing farm products are Annually
destroyed by the pests caused Z SJronS
effort To be made at the last session of the
state legislature 10 provide for the exter-
lninat ton OF the animals in the state. This
bill made 1t the duty Of the owners of land
L. kill all the dogs their property. and
when they failed 10 do SO the work was to
BE- done under the direction of tn board Of
county commissioners and the cost Of same
charged tax against the owner Of The
property. The west and southwest Texas
members Of the legislature favored the
passage of the bill, but 1t was opposed by
the east Texas members. There We're no
PRAIRIE dogs in east Texas, and the repre-
s"ntatiyeS in the legislature from thas part
% the state were unable to take the hill
=, riously. The determination measure will
Regular session of the legislature. and ii is
believed that 1t will be passed. 1t is con-
stIvatively estimated that in some sections
of the Panhandle country fully ~ per cent
Of the grass and agricultural crops are dc-
stroyed each year by the animals.
The prairie dog Is a remarkable animal ir
many respects; II is OF very domestic
nature They live in colonies of from 5Ot
10 5000 inhabitants. They live in holes
which are usually from fifteen TO twenty.
five feet deep. They are careful To have al
II -irrcph fNtE.s Il
hole In each colony which goes down Il
water. and some Of these water holes have
been known to be over 210 feet deep. Th,
animals ara so alert and wary that 1t i:
almost impossible TO shoot them even a
close range.
II is claimed by those who have tasted III,
flesh of the animal that it is good to eat
and that the meat very much resemble:
that of the squirrel in taste. 1t is said tha
but for their unsavory name the little ant
mails would be in demand in the game mar
kets of the country. Some years ago, i'm
mediately after the construction of tn
Fort Worth and Denver City raiiroa,
through the Panhandle, a young man from
Chicago got stranded at Quanah Will
making his way from Fort Worth to Den
yer looking for job. He was waiting Il
catch a freight train at the little town an,
took walk through the surrounding coun
try to kill time pending the arrival of hi
train. He came upon a large colony o
prairie dogs and, being Of an inventive tur,
OF mind. and in needy circumstances, I'll
thought occurred to him that the little ami
mails might be the means of furnishing hin
stake. He went back to town and pro
posed to the station telegraph operator
who happened to have few dollars saved
that they engage in the business of kilIn
and shipping dressed prairie dogs to tn
Chicago market In the guise Of prairi
squirrels The operator consented to tn
scheme and letter was written to q larg
commission house OF Chicago Offering
carload consignment of the animals TIL
Commission house replied that they woul