Chicago eagle. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1889-19??, 1904-09-03
KANSAS AMUSING PEST.
OFFICIAL EFFORTS TO GET RID
OF THE PRAIRIE DOG.
There Is an OFFICIAL Prairie Dog Ex.
terminator to Oversee the Work
Life Together Of the Prairie Dog
the Owl and the Rattiesnake on
the Prairie.

Official Prairie Dog Exterminator is
che title given by the Legislature Oh
Kansas to d. e. Lantz of Manhattan,
Kan. Mr.. Lantz's duties are to devise
means of killing off the millions OF
prairie dogs that infest the western
part of the State.
Ever since Western Kansas was set
tied the prairie dog has been pic.
turesque pest. He has devastated MIL
lions of acres of land and has been
the indireo1 means OF killing hundreds
of head of valuable livestock.
He has been hunted and scalded.
poisoned and conjured, but he has
lived merrily through it all. and null
tiplied at q rate that even the pr0linc
Belgian hare cannot equal. Finally.
after two years of experiment. the
/ State Agricultural College hit on
poison which, when properly and tact
fully used--for the prairie dog Is
keen rascal and not easily deceived
Is warranted to lay low the hardest
dog that ever barked defiance to his
foes.
This poison Is thoroughly mixed
with grain. but the same kind must
never be used twice. else the dogs
that escaped the first bait will ignore
the second. A spoonful OF 1t Is put
at the entrance Of every hole. The
unsuspecting dog. coming out to feed.
nnds his meal awaiting him. After
guilelessly partaking Of It. he hur.
riedly retreats to his burrow. to die
alone. A dead prairie dog Is never
found on top Of the ground.
Mr.. Lantz reports that during the
past two years the State has con.
sumed about 1900 pounds Of strych.
nine and over half ton Of potassium
cyanide in manufacturing the poison.
From 100000 to 100000 acres OF land
formerly infested with the prairie
dogs have been entirely reclaimed.
while q partial destruction Of them
has been accomplished over a much
larger area. including some Of the best
alfalfa ranches in the State.
Only since alfalfa growing reached
its present proportions In Western
Kansas has the prairie dog problem
been such a grave one. Prior to that
the land was hardly worth the trouble
OF driving out the invaders.
1t IL impossible even to estimate
accurately the vast number OF dogs
that form a single town. On ranch
| in Scott County owned by c. 8. Gilbert
OF Wichita there Is a single town
which covers $50 acres. The houses
average 200 to the acre, and each
house is known to contain not less
than Ave dogs. This would bring the
total population of this single town
up to something like LIES 900 dogs, to
say nothing OF q full complement Of
owls and rattlesnakes.
That prairie dogs, rattlesnakes and
owls live together in the same holes
is we'll known. The assertion Is often
made that they are happy family,
pursuing peaceful live.and.let.live
policy, and doing cooperative house
keeping on an ideal basis.
This Is far from being the case. The
dogs and the owls live In peace to.
gether, Though the owl Is lazy fellow
and the dogs have to do all the work.
But the snakes are interlopers. hated
and feared alike by owl and dog, get.
ting their living by the offspring OF
their hosts. and doing absolutely moth.
ing In return for the favors shown
them.
or all the inhabitants Of these popu'
lous cities the dogs come first, and do
all the work. digging out the holes,
building a Arm. hollow cone around
the opening to serve alike as pro.
lection and as point OF vantage In
viewing the remainder OF the town,
and later building the mysterious un'
derground waterworks and drainage
system that Is so complete and amaz'
ing In its ingenuity.
Each hole connects with these lat
erals, which often underlie the city at
q depth Of from 40 to 100 feet. II It is
necessary to 60 down SO far for water.
Each house also connects with every
other house, SO that the person who
pours buckets of water in hole after
a retreating dog and then waits to see
the dogs half drowned temperance,
is pretty sure to be disappointed.
The dogs live on buffalo grass. For
variety, the little fellows eat loco
weed, which Is deadly In it's effect on
. horse or steer. but only serves to
give the prairie dog comfortable jag
Shortly after dog town Ia estab
lished the owls put In an appearance
There are no trees. hollow or other
wise, for them to inhabit. and as they
are altogether too lazy to build thei.
own holes, they simply move into the
ones already prepared for them. They
are harmless creatures, though, and
the dogs do not resent their advent.
The snakes do not live In the towns
In the same numbers as the dogs ant
owls, because these two. by uniting
their efforts manage to kill goot
many of them. In every prairie dos
town a sealed hole is occasionally
seen. Every sealed hole means tina
in It an unhappy RATHER has threshet
away his life.
To corner a RATHER in a hole re
quires not little work and ingenuity
on the part of the dogs, for the snake
Is Just as smart as they are in skur
rying through underground passages
and II Ia only when preparation ha.
been made beforehand, and the snake
lured into some hole, the underground