88 NEIGHBORS WITH CLAWS AND HOOFS, 



suddenly the great jack springs from under our feet and 

 goes bounding off with those wonderful leaps. 



9. " The female does not burrow, as most prairie mam- 

 mals are wont to do, but constructs a simple " form " in 

 the grass, beneath some thick, low bush or tuft of weeds. 

 The young are agile little creatures, even when only a 

 week or two old, and hard to catch. This hare is little 

 esteemed by most persons, either for its flesh or its fur, 

 and is seldom pursued ; in a country where buffalo, elk, 

 deer, and antelope abound, the pursuit of a ' jack-rabbit ' 

 is considered ridiculous. The Indians, however, eat it, as 

 they do everything else that they can chew and swallow, 

 and it is sometimes netted by them in great numbers, 

 after a peculiar fashion, when these people turn out by 

 hundreds for the battue. 



10. " The extraordinary agility of this animal, which 

 would be inferred from inspection of its lithe yet mus- 

 cular and free-limbed shape, has always excited attention. 

 The early travelers, Lewis and Clarke, speak of its leap- 

 ing some eighteen or twenty feet at one bound, and think 

 this probably no exaggeration. To one who has never 

 seen the creatures alive it is difficult to give an idea of the 

 extraordinary spectacle they offer when running at full 

 speed, and the way they get over the ground is wonder- 

 ful, considering how much force is expended in the height 

 of the leap. 



11. " The first sign one usually has of a jack, which 

 has squatted in hopes of being passed unnoticed till its 

 fears forced it to fly, is a great bound into the air, with 

 straightened-out body and erected ears. The instant the 

 animal touches the ground again it is up in the air for the 

 second time, with a peculiar springy jerk, more like the 

 bouncing of a ball, apparently, than the result of muscu- 

 lar motion. It scarcely seems to fairly touch the ground 



