Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1912-03-24
IN THE YEAR OF NO RABBITS

TT was the hungry year; for all the flesh eating
kindred OF the northern w1lds year of ceaseless
ambush, of strained vigilance of unprecedentedly
savage feud. In this year every truce was broken For
it the year of no rabbits.
AS happens once in awhile, mysteriously the
ing hordes of them had vanished, if wiped by
pestilence, exled in mass, inexoraby, by some
caprice of the unseen Powers. And red anarchy in
the wild For the rabbit the great reconcer the great
keeper of the peace. 1t is he that keeps life
less regulated for the fercey individual and ungover
able hunters and providers; for his nexhaustble fer
tlity and to the food supply afforded by his myriads
all their lives atuned Their wants satisfied by
this faCie chase, they afford to themselves
trouble by avoiding another at times, by respecting,
to certain extent, anOthers ranges and esCap
ing the risk of dangerous and doubtful Few
of the wild creatures with the exception of certain males
in the mating season. to fight for ghtings sake,
Join battle unless in defense of their young with
antagonist of anything like equal powers victory
costly is almost bad for them defeat; for it
leaves them weakened, that they fall prey to the
next foe that chances along.
In these circumstances it not strange that there
should be signs among the greater beasts of something
like truce where their helpless young concerned.
1t is matter of good will by any but of COM
mon prudence merely; for when their young are
threatened the weak dangerous and the strong
become implacabe in their vengeance In general,
therefore, among equals the radng of nurseries is not
regarded good hunting. The peril is too great for
the profit.
But when the rabbits gone all that changed
Then any hunting good hunting.
1t hard to realize that little papitating, bullying
eyed Bunny could exert vast influence the
economy of the wilderness; but there was none so
strong naughty indifferent to his going.
Even himself touched; for the foxes and the
wildcats drew in about the settlements and harred the
henroosts and pastures of the outlying farms. The
great herb eatersthe red deer, the caribou and the
gigantic moose hmself-were exempt from the sud-
den anarchy; for the and the caribou had to
guard their young with vigilance hitherto undreamed
Of and the weaker deer discovered that enemies he had
been wont to despise had all at grown formidable.
OF all the wilderness dwellers the bears perhaps,
least affected. They had taken more than
chance interest in quarry elusive the nmble rab
bit; and flesh food essential to them so long
roots and fruits and fungi grubs and Beetles ants
and honey, to be found in the forest. And when
the craving for flesh not to be denied it was big
game they hunted, such deer the settlers sheep,
strayed heer that had lost her bell. But for
all their loneliness of independence, the bears
forced to take count of Master Rabbits departure.
They afraid to go any distance from their dens,
lest IN their absence greatly daring lynx fox
fisher should slip in and kill the cubs.
1t was perhaps, the other hand, the lynxes that
suffered most They with the weases, were the most
assiduous hunters of the rabbit and they somewhat
lacked the vessels adaptabty and craft. They are
rather set in their the lynxes; and though
savage and vastly more formidable than their smaller
cousins the Wildcats they are at the same time far
shyer of and all his works Instead of following
the foxes and wildcats into the fringes of the settle