The Great Jackrabbit Drives

Yonder against the hill I see them,
Their running bodies grayish brown
Amid the thickening clouds of dust!
A thousand, two thousand, maybe more
They dart against the closing lines
Of men and women, children, armed
With clubs, a swiftly closing ring.
Some crouch down behind a weed
Too small to hide them from the throng
Who're striking right and left, killing
Or stunning and going on to others.
A few escape--out through the mob
A moment more the rest remain
Tired from running, some blood stained,
And when they pause one sees their eyes;
They show no fear, instead there's something
That makes one wonder, later--not now,
There's not time now, one has to kill.

The dust is clearing, their bodies strewn
The ground, a few are kicking yet,
One squeals as it receives a final blow.
The rabbit drive is over.

...The size of a drive varied from one or two sections to massive efforts covering several square miles. The largest successful drive was near Dighton and involved 10,000 people in an area eight miles square that netted an estimated 35,000 rabbits. An even larger drive near Kalvesta was to have been 10 miles square or 64,000 acres. The organizers expected as many as 15,000 people to assist, but a dust storm ended the drive prematurely when the opposing sides couldn't find each other. Similarly, the weather ruined a planned 108-section drive near Oakley...