The Caucasian. (Clinton, N.C.) 188?-1913, 1913-02-20
JIMMY COOPER's WOOD
CHUCK.

house near the mill. He and Jimmy
Cooper are great friends.
One day Jimmy Cooper invited jim
my Allen TO help him catch wood
chuck.
Its az easy as anything IL you
know how" explained Jimmy Cooper.
tossing clump OF grass into the mill
pond. THE mill man told me. He
says most woodehucks hare q front
door and back door"
20. know that much" interrupt
ed Jimmy Allen, and he, too, threw
a clump OF grass into the mill pond.
His clump of grass went father than
Jimmy Cooper's and made bigger cir
cles in the water.
Well, let's hear you tell what you
know" Jimmy Cooper suggested,
snatching his hat from the grass as
he spoke, and making dive at but
terfiy. The butterfly escaped.
You stop up one end of the bur
row 30 the woodchuck won't get Out"
| continued Jimmy Allen, and pour In
water at the other end until the
woodchuck is drowned" Then he
made a dive at the butterfly with his
| old straw hat, and caught 1t.
| That's the way TO capture a wood
chuck If you want it 70 ra pet" ex-
claimed Jimmy Cooper. watching the
quickly released butterfly float
through June sunshine.
Catch a woodchuck with your
kat?" inquired Jimmy Allen.
mo. mean catch him alive. My
! fathers mill man says that two boys
can do it If one boy holds a basket
tight over the front door of the bur
row. Then the other boy goes to the
back door of the burrow and builds
fire in it. Pretty soon the smoke
gets so bad, Mr.. Woodchuck thinks
his kitchen stove must be smoking
But, If he goes back through the long
hall and through his bedroom to SEE
what Is the matter, he thinks his
house is on fire, and straight he goe:
; to the front door, ker-bang into the
basket. 1t is just as easy! All yo,
, have to do is, shut down the baske
. tight, and there is your pet wood
, chuck"
THAT is easy" agreed Jimmy AL
| len. Lets try it. | want to catct
, him in the basket"
| "S'pose you dare?" questioned Jim
nav Cooper. Sometimes woodchuck
t bite.
) Dare! who's afraid?" replied Jim
2 nv Allen. Lets get to work, be
= cause we ought to build pen to keel
him in"
J., "And make him warm little win
ter house of stones and sod" adde
= Jimmy Cooper. my fathers ma
y says the reason woodchucks get so ia
in the summer is because they go t
z sleep in the autumn and don't wax
q up until spring. l want my pet wooo
: chuck to be as comfortable as b
It would be at home"
While the boys built the pen, wit
help and advice from the miller
hired man, they talked of Jimmy
woodchuck.
at will be such fun to watch hill
COmO Is lace! eACidiACu jim III
Cooper
Comb his facet" repeated Jimm
Allen, in tones of establishment.
Eyes, sir, that is what johnson
= Natural History says. He will sit
70 his hind legs like squirred and lie
:, and smooth his fur like a cat. +
;e will clean and comb his face with b
s. claws. too! 1t seems as if l can
watt"
% When all was ready, the miller
D. man left his work to watch the BIO.
~ catch the woodchuck.
D. When Jimmy Cooper at one end
~ the burrow was about to light b
st match, he called to Jimmy Allen
he the other end: "Basket-bas-ket-
n, watch QUIT"
" Scr-scratch went the match {
r a brick, and crackle-crackle the ii
TT began to burn.
Jimmy Allen wasn't afraid as
I chung to the basket against the hi
as side, but he kept wriggling his ba
IS, toes and sending loose stones bul
e. pety-bang, bumpety-bang, into t
w river below.
Watch out! watch OUT" warn
ay Jimmy Cooper at last. "He thin
d, his house is on fire by this time: PR
r. ty smoky in there!"
at The next minute something we
bang-bump! against the bask
and Jimmy Allen was rolling do'
hill If his blouse hadn't caught
some bushes, he might have roll
into the water.
W, where is the woodchuck?"
ez called, as he scrambled to his fl
IL and tried to pretend he didn't ca
se if he had skinned his knee.
I'm where is he?" repeated Jiml
ut Cooper. I'm sure I don't know!
tut laughed so hard I didn't see WI
ng became of the woodchuck!"
.ry There he is!'' called the mile
ue man, pointing to higher spot on
ed river bank. Look, boys, look, b
'rd a-winkin' at you, 1 do believe!'
lbt Sure enough, there sat the wo'
chuck on his hind legs, gazing do