158 THE ANGLER AND HUNTSMAN 



they utilize deserted badger or prairie-dog dens, but fre- 

 quently they dig them for themselves under rocks and other 

 objects. Ofttimes they also make their home in the crevices 

 of rock walls and rock fences. In fact upon occasion they 

 will make their nests most anywhere a ]ikely spot may be 

 found. They have to do this to maintain preservation of 

 life, which is the first law of all nature. Increased culti- 

 vation of farm lands is the most serious stumbling-block to 

 their rapid increase, and, as it is, they seem to be holding 

 their own in most every community, and in quite a few lo- 

 calities they have even become so numerous as to be termed a 

 nuisance by a certain class of folks, who, while well-meaning, 

 are not exactly nature-lovers. 



Granting 'that it is true they do some damage to gr owing- 

 gardens, this fact does not justify their extermination, since 

 their meat forms one of the important meat supplies 

 whereby the human family subsist. The annual kill of rab- 

 bits mounts up in value into thousands of dollars, per- 

 haps even into the millions, while the damage they do, com- 

 paratively speaking, amounts to hardly anything. AVe are 

 for the rabbits, first, last and all the time. 



The cottontail forms a target worthy the quick eye of 

 the trained gunner, as it bobs up and down, leap by leap, and 

 swift as a fleeting shadow. One must be ready to pull 

 trigger the instant Br'er Rabbit is jumped by the dogs, or 

 without dogs, as some hunters hunt them. If you are afraid 

 of shooting the dog when the rabbit is first jumped, or if the 

 rabbit gets up too far ahead and not within gun-shot, you 

 will be free to take your time and await the time when the 

 rabbit circles, as he assuredly will. 



As a game animal the cottontail furnishes some of the 

 most enjoyable and interesting sport to be had by American 

 hunters. The zigzag, headlong rush of a cottontail for the 

 nearest cover is replete with so much energetic action that it 

 excites a pleasant thrill in the onlooker, and even the ^pot- 

 hunter'- must experience some qualms of the heart in kill- 

 ing them. 



