A photo of a rabbit drive, c. 1934. (Kansas Historical Society)
Rabbit drives are an old Kansas tradition. Never heard of it? That’s because we don’t hold rabbit drives anymore. But they were once a big part of life on the prairie in Kansas. Starting possibly as early as the mid-1920s, Kansas saw a boom in its black-tailed jackrabbit population. The population was largely unchecked. They would eat just about everything. During the Dust Bowl days, they are stated to have begun eating the underground roots of alfalfa and the bark off trees [5] [6]. The increasing threat of the jackrabbit pest led to towns offering bounties on jackrabbit kills. In some instances, this was also used to fundraise. These bounties are what led to the large-scale event that was the jackrabbit drive. Rabbit drives consisted of building a big fence to put the rabbits in. Materials for these fences were often sponsored by the county [3]. On one side, women and children would yell and bang pots and pans to scare the rabbits into the fencing. The children who assisted in the drives would be given time off from school to do so [6]. On the other side were men with clubs whose job it was to club the rabbits to death.
A group of people gathered for a rabbit drive in Gray County, c. 1934. (Kansas Historical Society)
Afterwards, the rabbits would be harvested. During the mid 1920s, at least some were shipped all the way to New York [2]. The jackrabbits would also be shipped to other parts of the state. There were even some attempts to ship live jackrabbits to other states, before those states realized how damaging the jackrabbits could be [5]. When the Dust Bowl blew in, rabbits from the drive became an important food source for both people and livestock, according to some sources [2]. Though some may have also abstained from eating them due to fears of rabbit fever [3]. Kansas’s largest rabbit drive happened during the dust bowl, taking place in Lane county and involved more than 10,000 people defeating more than 35,000 rabbits [1] [3].
Dust Bowl Fast Facts:
The Dust Bowl began at the start of the 1930s and is generally considered to have lasted for the whole decade, with 1934 and 1936 being some of the worst years. Drought and dust storms led to the absolute destruction of crops, and cattle had to be led on long treks to find any edible vegetation (which they would then have to compete with jackrabbits for)[4].
Rabbits scamper at a rabbit drive in western Kansas, c.1934. (Kansas Historical Society)
Like anywhere else in southwest Kansas at the time, the city of Spearville had rabbit drives. Rabbit drives in Spearville began as early as 1924, with a drive that year raising $185 (approx. $3,500 today) for the benefit of the local hospital. Another drive in 1925 netted 1,145 rabbits worth 8 cents (approx $1.50 today) at Brown Produce and 5 cents (approx 90 cents today) in rabbit bounty [7]. The rabbits were then sold by Brown Produce to both Kinsey and New York. No one knew what New York did with the rabbits, with one person stating they “use ‘em to make rabbit burgers,” and others speculating they may have been used to make pet food [2]. Like in other areas of Kansas, rabbit drives continued into the dust bowl. Sponsored fences were built, and rabbits were driven. Rather than being sold to other counties or states at this point, the rabbits were used as food for the needy.
Women check to make sure that there are no rabbits left alive to needlessly suffer, 1935. (Kansas Historical Society)
At this point, rabbit drives had been going on for at least a decade in Spearville. The dust bowl had also been raging for several years. While there were still many rabbits, the population was not what it was the decade prior. Perhaps there is a connection between the rabbit population and the dust storms? Luckily, a man name Whams Bigsby found the causation in this correlation. In a story published in Spearville News on May 2, 1935, Wham Bigsby, visiting Spearville from his farm on Sawlog Flats, boldly declared that the rabbit drives were the cause of the dust storms. “The severe dust storms are due to killing off the jackrabbits during the winter [...] The rabbits kept the soil tramped down so it wouldn't blow. We had a dry fall, why didn't it blow then?” as Mr. Bigsby put it. “The jackrabbit does a lot of sitting around during the day but he's a very busy individual at night. [...] If we had our rabbits back to give the soil a good ol' tromping, we'd have a normal spring,” he continued. Bigsby concluded the interview saying “I'm going to get my old shotgun out next time I hear somebody announcing a rabbit drive but I'm not going to use it on the rabbits.” [2]
Bigsby would later go on record to say, “Some of them laughed at me several years ago when I said the dust storms were due to killing off the rabbits, the rabbits keeping the ground tamped down. We had a big rabbit crop last summer and you will notice that we haven't had any bad dust storms this spring. So I'm vindicated.” [2] Photo from c. 1934. (Kansas Historical Society)
This tall tale spun by Wham Bigsby was reprinted in newspapers across the country. One such reprint of the story in the Oklahoma City Times came with a salesman insisting that the story was the scientific proof. However, despite what some salesmen might say, the story is of course patently false. Jackrabbits do not tamp down the soft earth to prevent dust storms. Even Wham Bigsby himself is not a real person, instead a fictional character made up by Spearville News editor Horace L. Fry. This hoax story was never intended to be taken completely seriously or to be reprinted throughout the country, though Fry did feel a certain amount of accomplishment when it was reprinted in Oklahoma [2]. Rather, the story was intended to bring some levity to a public plagued by dust, drought and famine. Such a story would not have come about if not for the very particular material conditions of the time. Although rabbit drives are now perhaps long forgotten, telling truth from fiction in news may still be a challenge we face today!
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