BABBIT TRACKS 149 



and driven into pens and slaughtered, very much after 

 the same fashion that the Indians trapped the Buffa- 

 loes. Though this sounds cruel, it seems to be neces- 

 sary, if the great crops, that mean bread to the country, 

 are to be saved. Now, instead of merely killing the 

 Rabbits and letting the flesh go to waste, thoughtful 

 sportsmen have made a plan to send them to nearby 

 cities to be food for the poor who can buy but little 

 meat." 



" Aren't there any other fourfoots out there to help 

 keep the Jacks down ? " asked Rap. 



" Yes, the Coyotes, or Prairie Wolves, used to feed 

 on them, but people found that these little Wolves 

 stole young calves and sheep, and they turned about 

 and killed so many of them that the Jack Rabbits 

 laughed, shook their ears, and said, ' We are good 

 things, let us eat more and raise a great many children,' 

 and off they whirled again. No other beast can run 

 like a Jack Rabbit ; the swiftest horse cannot overtake 

 him in a fair chase, and there is a famous race recorded 

 between a Jack and a greyhound, where the Hare dis- 

 tanced his pursuer for two miles and a half and then 

 hid in a log, leaving the hound quite spent. 



" The result of the Jack Rabbits living as they pleased 

 and holding high carnival was a series of hunts in 

 which thousands were killed ; then the Coyotes in that 

 I)articular spot, having no Jacks to eat, took calves, 

 sheep, and poultry boldly, and so trouble for the farmer 

 and cattle raisers rolls along between the two animals. 

 What suits the ranchman does not suit the farmer, and 

 the end of the war is not yet in sight." 



"Perhaps an earthquake may swallow them all, — 



