THE HAWAIIAN STAR — OCTOBER 17, 1907
NATURE FAKER? OH, NO!
“Did you ever go rabbit hunting with crabs?” inquired the man who had just come home from a vacation spent on the eastern end of Long Island. Without waiting for the negative response which he apparently expected, he proceeded to explain.
“I have hunted rabbits in the usual ways of course,” he said, “but none of them compares at all for sport with this method of my own invention. First, I procure a strong net, a number of short tallow candles and a supply of hard-shell crabs. These last must be just out of the water and very lively.
“I hunt around until I find a rabbit burrow with two entrances, and over one of these openings I fasten the net securely. Then all that remains to be done is to prepare my crabs for their part of the work.
“Lighting a candle, I hold it, wick down, for a few moments, over the back of a crab, until the drops of melted tallow have formed a little pool upon his hard shell. Into this I stick the candle, right side up, and in a minute the grease hardens and holds it firm and upright.
“When I have several crabs fixed up in this way, I send them, in single file, into the open end of the burrow. You can perhaps imagine the sensations of the rabbit when he sees this weird torchlight procession making way down his private hall. I fancy I can.
“Anyhow, I know what he does when he sees it. He makes tracks just as fast as he can for his door, where, of course, he finds himself stopped by the net.
“It’s a great scheme; nothing can beat it, and you can recommend it to all your sporting friends.“
From— The Hawaiian Star. (Honolulu [Oahu]), 17 Oct. 1907. Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers. Lib. of Congress.
