RABBIT HUNTS IN COLORADO. 



63 



Partial List of Idaho liabiit Drives and Hunts — Contiuued. 



Locality. 



Date. 



Rabbits 

 killed. 



Dec. 



7, 1895 



5,000 



Dec. 



9, 1895 



2,000 



Dec. 



14, 1895 



2,000 



Dec. 



31, 1895 



1,200 



Jan. 



3, 1896 



150 



Jan. 



4, 1896 



1,600 



Feb. 



1, 1895 



247 



Feb. 



7, 1895 



450 



Keb. 



14, 1895 



509 



Feb, 



20, 1895 



739 



Jan. 



9, 1896 



990 



Dec. 



30, 1895 



1,044 



Jan. 



4, 1896 



1,000 



Winter 1894- 



2,000 



%. 







Jan. 



11,1896 



300 



Authority. 



Cassia County. 



Marion* 



Do 



Do 



Do 



Do 



Do 



Fremont County. 

 Grantt 



Do 



Do 



Do 



Lewisville 



Market Lake* 



Do 



Rigby 



Do* 



C. A. Tolman, Marion. 

 Do. 

 Do. 

 Do. 

 Do. 

 Do. 



Eli McEntire, Grant. 



Do. 



Do. 



Do. 

 Ed Ellsworth, Lewisville. 



Do. 



Do. 

 E. P. Coltman, Idaho Ealls. 



Ed Ellsworth, Lewisville. 



* Drives. 



t Hunts have been reported from Lewisville for February 14 and 26 ( ?), 1895, which are probably the 

 same as those given in this list. Grant, Lewisville, and Kigby are all within a i'ew miles of one 

 another; the same hunt may be reported from different places and thus lead to confusion, particularly 

 if no dates are given. 



COLORADO. 



During the last three years a series of rabbit hunts have taken 

 place in eastern Colorado, resulting in the destruction of nearly 29,000 

 rabbits. As is the case with the hunts in Utah, no inclosures are built 

 and shotguns are the only weapons used. The hunters are usually dis- 

 tributed over the ranches in the neighborhood and hunt singly or in 

 small parties. The success of these hunts has led to the celebration 

 each winter of a ' Rabbit Day/ which is set apart for the destruction 

 of the pests. In reply to an inquiry concerning the origin of the cus- 

 tom at Lamar, Mr. J. T. Lawless, editor of the Lamar Sparks, wrote on 

 March 4, 1895: 



This portion of Colorado was first settled in 1886, and in 1889 farming by irrigation 

 ■was begun on an extensive scale. The territory under dxoch is about 18 miles wide. 

 North and south of this strip of irrigated land there is little vegetation, and the land 

 is valuable chiefly as a stock range. After the first year of farming by irrigation, 

 rabbits increased rapidly, and the farmers were greatly annoyed. The rabbits came 

 from the rainbelt region for miles around and made their headquarters in the alfalfa 

 and grain fields and the growing orchards of Prowers County. * * * The great 

 increase in the number of rabbits caused much concern, and finally a big hunt was 

 arranged to reduce their numbers. This hunt was confined to people of Lamar and 

 the county. About fifty-five men participated, and they killed over 1,200 rabbits in 

 one day. The following winter another hunt was arranged on similar lines, and the 

 same number of men brought in about 2,000 rabbits. This hunt was followed by the 

 first annual hunt, in which gunners from all parts of the State participated. That 

 was the inauguration of Rabbit Day. Over 4,000 rabbits were killed, and these were 

 drawn and shipped to Denver and Pueblo for distribution among the poor, to whom 

 the meat was very acceptable. 



One of the largest and most successful hunts was that of December 

 22, 1894, in which 101 gunners took part and secured 5,142 rabbits as 

 the result of a day and a lialf of steady work ( see Plate VI). When 

 dressed, these jack rabbits usually average about 6^ pounds each, and 



