The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1900-12-12
"DOGGIN" RABBITS.
a Reminder Of Boyhood Days.
Ernest McGaGy, IN TIE (hirngo Rccord.

when the hunt had been arranged.
And We three made close corporation
out of it and no one was allowed to
participate in our hunts but ourselves.
Of course, all firearms were strictly
prohibited in these hunts. and indeed
there was no need Of any. When
Henry Clay got tEc bearings Of any
particular rabbit nine times out Of ten
the rabbit would have saved time sim
ply by lying down and giving up. 1t
was almost IL certain thing that the
combination would get him. For the
hound very seldom lost tho trail, the
ours could stand tho going, and the
boys never let up until the rabbit
wiltcd. y boys cruelty may lie
thoughtlcssEcss or a trace of the origi-
nal stone age gentleman. Either way
1t IS there, and he cannot understand
the fine gradations between the IN urdcr
of the Thanksgiving gobblcr aud the
Staying Of the dcfcncclcss rabbit.
The latter, indeed, might sometimes
get away. But for selected holiday
turkey there was no chance on earth.
When rabbit bctook himself to
hollow log we used to chop him out or
twist him out. Chopping him out
was when the hole in the log was too
crooked to admit Of poking in stick
to twist him with, or when the rabbit
got up into log beyond the reach Of
the sticks. We would put our ears to
the log, pound it, and finally locate
the unfortunate cottontail. And
when this was done the light axe in
the hands of Rubc solved the problem
speedily and the rabbit was added 20
his mates. 1t was cruel, of course,
from humanitarian point of view.
If VIC could twist tho rabbit out we
simply stuck split stick into the
hole until we reached the quarry and
then got purchase on him with the
split end and persuaded him to come
out.
Whenever we ran rabbit into a
cornshock we would rip the shock to
pieces like Indians and out would
bounce the rabbit, with Henry Clay
and Oscar and Juno in hot pursuit,
and generally someone Of the process
sion nabbed him. Such pandcmo-
mum OF yells and sAouts, with the
barking of the smaller dogs and the
baying Of the hound to add to the
music. Rube Swcaringen used to
kind of forget that he was the boss,
and when we got into scrimmage OF
that kind it was every one for himself
and woe to the rabbit. Squirrels we
didn't care much for. Occasionally
one of the ours would nip fox SOUR
rel which had venturcd too far from
his home tree; but, generally speak
ing, VIC didn't bother with them.
Those Missouri rabbits wcro big fell
lows-long- g-legged, rangy and of excel
lent staying powers. But We were too
much for them, and never Saturday
in the late fall season and early winter
that We failed to get good bunch.
We kept the dogs hungry while we
were hunting, for to feed them would
have been to destroy their usefulness.
They all knew better than to try to
eat rabbit after they had killed one.
That would have meant q good stiff
licking, administered on the spot. aud
Rubo wasn't afraid to waltz right into
Henry Clay if he had ever tried it..
He did try it once and I think old
Henry never forgot it. Rube just
naturally grabbed up big "chunk of
brush" and wore it plum out" on
him, as he expressed it. And that
settled the rabbit eating issue right
there. Oscar and Juno had been
dubbed out of such notions when they
were puppies. It was hard to say
which enjoyed it the most, the hoys
or the dogs. Oscar used to turn more
than dozen "summersets' every
morning we went to the woods. Juno
would run around in q circle and
Henry Clay would bay when we got to
the timber until you would have
thought he would split his throat.
Coming home VIC would string the
rabbits on sapling and trail through
the town with the admiring comments
OF old and young following us. That
was not the least Of the fun, 1 can tell
you. And rabbit pie, and stcwed rab.
bit, and fried rabbit, and rabbit roast.
cd and -tuffed was also something no,
to be saeezed at. So, although tic
latter-day hunting has its elegancies
and its science of hand and eve. Of
brain and muscle, more implicated tc
win success, I do not ask anything
better than To ha II veors old oro;