The Madison daily leader. [volume] (Madison, S.D.) 1890-current, 1907-04-06
PRAIRIE Dogs DOOM.
Ibxas and Oklahoma Try to Ex-
!, terminate the Pest.
LAUNDRY SOAP KILLS THEM.

IAUUUhI OURF NIIo THEW.
Hut Department Of Agriculture 10
looking For eome conts sious NAL
sdy with Which to inocuiate tho
Nuisance Comment.
a systematic organization Of the
nOnlcstenders along the Oklahoma
Texas border has becn In progress
6nring the past three years looking to
che determination of the prairie dog, q
hcSt that Is still a menace to crops and
orchards throughout western Oklaho-
ma and the Texns Panhandle country,
nays the st. Louis Globe Democrat.
This organization extends from Beaver
county. Okla. down into the Texas
Panhandle md numbers hundreds Of
1arrncrs IN It's membership. In one
vicinity last spring three tons OF poison
was used In this campaign Of extermi-
natlon, and similar amount will be
fed ont this spring In the dog villages
The campaign has been carried even
tatO the Texas and Oklahoma legisla-
tpres. where bills have been passed
providing for the placing Of bounty on
scalps. In the Oklahoma legislature
such a bill wns passed In 1906 through
the efforts Of Representative Tom
nobinson Of Greer county. 1t gives
the township trustees the power to au-
thorise a levy by the county commits
sioners, the fund to be used In boun-
Hes. The operation of this law. which
= similar to the Texas statute, has
teen very successful in several por-
lions Of thss locality.
N It has been found by the homestead
s0rs that the only way In which results
can be obtained Ii to carry on cam
paign over a considerable territory Mt
sthe same time. as the dogs, II driven
out Of one locality, will merely move
20 another town" The little animals
migrate frequently and often appear
suddenly In large numbers in localities
where they have not been seen before
u many years.
Following his hunting trip on the
Red river President Roosevelt In de-
scribing the wolf and coyote chases
said: There was certain element Of
stisk In the gallops, because the whole
country was one huge prairie dog town,
! the prairie dogs being SO numerous
that their new towns and their aban-
doned towns were continuous with one
another In every direction. Practical
y every run we had was through these
prairie dog towns. varied occasionally
By creeks and washouts. But as we
always ran scattered out, the wonder
fully quick COW ponies, brought up IN
this country and spending all their
time among the prairie dog towns,
were able, even while running at head
long speed, to avoid the holes with a
cleverness that was simply marvellous"
John r.. Braun, farmer residing
near Milt0nvale, KAN, has discovered
that common laundry soap kills prairie
dogs with great rapidity. Braun had
about 100 dogs ON his farm, and, al
though he had used traps, catching
about thirty, the rest Of the colony be-
came wise and would walk around the
traps, Ignoring them. One dog was
caught In trap and only slightly IN.
1ured. and this animal Braun took to
the house for his children. 1t was
placed In cage, where one day the
children fed It a small piece Of laundry
soap Within Ave minutes the dog
was dend This decided Braun to ex-
pertinent, and. cutting bar OF soap
into small squares, he distributed them
freely throughout the town. The next
IilA1 there was not q dog left to tell the
saAory. H0 maintains that 10 cents
worth Of soap will clean out the big
sgoot dog town on earth.
All manner of schemes are tried by
the western farmer, however, to rid
his place Of the dogs, only to see them
return. probably IN greater numbers, at
I later date. In recent years the de-
partment OF agriculture at Washing
ton has been trying to secure fatal
and contagious nalady that will wipe
ont the prairie dog and similar pests,
including rabbits and gophers. but thus
far nothing has been secured. It Is
admitted that traps md poisons will
work Tor a time and In localities, but
that nothing short OF q contagious, "a
tn, disease will kill OF the pests.
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