RABBIT HUNTS IN UTAH. 



61 



Mr. James L. Buuting, of Kanab, writes that between 1858 and 

 1870 rabbits were very abundant on the land between the Jordan 

 Eiver and Great Salt Lake. In November and December hunters 

 would go out almost daily in parties of from four to six each, and on 

 some occasions as many as 500 rabbits were killed in a single day. 



The hunts usually take place in the winter or early spring when the 

 snow is on the gTound, and are thus described by W. Gr. ISowers in a 

 letter dated February, 1887. He says : 



"Our mode of destroying these pests is to select two captains, who 

 choose their associates from the community, and form two attacking 

 parties, who ride or go with firearms, dogs, clubs, and so on, and lay 

 siege to every rabbit caught sight of. In some instances the slaughter 

 has amounted to nearly 1,000 for each side. These raids are waged on 

 every favorable opportunity — after a snowstorm, or monthly, if no snow 

 falls, as has been the case this winter." 



Kabbit hunts have occurred in a number of places in southwestern 

 Utah, but are less common in the northern part of the State. One, how- 

 ever, took place near Corinne during the summer of 1894. According 

 to Prof. Marcus E. Jones, as many as a dozen or fifteen hunts have 

 occurred annually during recent years. One of the largest is described 

 by Mr. Vernon Bailey as having taken place near Panguitch, Garfield 

 County, in 1885. It lasted three days, and some 80 men and boys took 

 part, killing more than 5,000 rabbits within a few miles of the town. 

 As will be seen from the following table, the recent Utah hunts are 

 small in comparison with those in Colorado or the California drives. 



Partial List of Babbit Hunts in Utah. 



LocaUty. 



Date. 



Babbits 

 klUed. 



Authority. 



Beaver County. 

 Beaver 



Dec, 1886 . 



5,000 



1,600 



2,300 



2,000-3,000 



1,500-2,000 



300-400 

 1,000 



5, 522 



500 

 527 

 172 

 169 

 600 

 2,000 

 1, 800 



Orson Aired, Beaver. 

 Do. 



Do 



1894 



Do ... 



JFeb. 1895 



Do 



Minersville* 



July 1887 



Dotsoj & Son Minersville 



Do 



Dec, 1887, or Jan., 



1888. 



Summer 1894 





Boxelder County A 



Editor Bugler, Br-'gham City. 





Garfield County. 





David W. Montague, Panguitch. 



W.L. Manly, 'Death Valley in '49', 110. 

 Will C. Higgins, Cedar City. 



Iron County.'; 



Near Little Salt Lake ? 



Cedar City 



Oct. (?), 1849 



Feb. 24, 1894 



Dec 21, 1893 



Jan.'28-Feb.2,1895. 

 Feb. 11-14, 1895.... 



irrSS::::::; 





Do 



Iron County Record Feb. 8, 1895. 

 Iron County Record Feb. 15, 1895. 

 M. Richard's, jr., Parowan. (Drive). 



Parugonah 



Parowan 



Do 



Do 



Will C. Higgms, Cedar City. 



Do . ... 



Jaii.31,1894 1 337 



Jan. 20-26, 1895....' 1,290 



Summit 



Iron County Record Feb. 1, 1895. 



*Mes8r8. Dotson & Son report that 21,000-22,000 rabbits were killed in two months in 1887 and 1888, 

 t A number of hunts seem to have occurred near Brigham City and elsewhere, whicli are necessarily 



omitted here in the absence of sufficient data. The county pai'd bounties on 12,758 rabbits during the 



years 1893, 1894, and 1895— see p. 43. 

 + Mr. M. Richards, jr., of Parowan gives 9,(?b0 as the probable number of rabbits killed in this 



county during 1894. 



