Uncle Dick and Lisa's Old Time Animal Tales

Mammoth Hunt by Five Thousand Persons in Southeastern Kansas.
Kansas City, Mo., Feb. 20.-[Special.] At 9 o’clock this morning an enormous wolf hunt started over Crawford and Bourbon Counties in Kansas. As a result about 300 wolves lie dead tonight. Both counties and others adjoining were scoured by over 5,000 men, women, and children armed in all conceivable ways. Two thousand jack rabbits were also captured in the general roundup. Owing to an error in signaling there was one break in the line which reduced the number of captures, but another hunt will take place next Saturday to finally wipe out the foxes and wolves of Southeastern Kansas. There was but one accident, Thomas Perkins of Farmington being very seriously bitten by a couple of wolves. He will not recover, as he was torn fearfully by the infuriated animals.
This “drive” has been planned several times, but on each occasion severe weather spoiled the performance, although a week ago the party organized and but for a mistake in signals would have had a very successful hunt. The two railroad stations to which strangers came from a distance are Farlington and Englevale. All of the houses there were open to visitors as early as Thursday, while today there was not sufficient accommodation for the hungry outsiders. The Commander-in-Chief, Capt. S. H. Gass, is an old-timer who had charge of several of the last wolf hunts that took place in southeastern Ohio, something like twenty years ago. He is well posted on the habits of the wolf and the best methods of capturing him. His immediate aides were Gen. G. W. Swan, Col. Ora Williams, Olpha Jones, and Roland Bass.
The hunt was divided into four lines, each having more than 1,000 men in the party. Each side was fifty miles long, the square working to the central round-up. The west line, which formed on the eastern edge of Allen and Neosho Counties, was in charge of Col. D. B. Sanderson, Commander. The North line was commanded by Col. John Landers. The East line was in charge of Maj. Park L. Keener, and the South line conducted by Col. James Bass.
Under the plan the lines began to move toward a hollow square at 9 o’clock this morning. The west and north lines moved about four miles and then awaited orders, while the other lines pushed in more rapidly on horseback, driving wolves, foxes, and jack-rabbits in front of them.