THE UNTAMED CHUDDA.

Daily Telegraph (Napier), Issue 3643, 16 March 1883, Page 4

THE UNTAMED CHUDDA.

(From the San Francisco Post.)

" No, said the old lady from Petaluma, as she sat Avistf ully chewing the knob of her sunshade before a piled-up counter at Samueis's the other day— " no, I can't afford it. It's prczactly Avhat 3laria Jane Avauted, but I can't go over ten bits if it is a—a —what do you call it, young man r" " Chudda cloth, ma'am," said the perspiring clerk. "It's as cheap as dirt, Avhen you consider the thing. HaA'e you CA-er calculated the expense necessary to produce one of the dresses ." " Wal, no ; I ain't ncA'er figgered on it." "Well, ma'am in the first place, it takes eight men four days to catch a chudda. They're getting terribly scarce iioav." "Are, eh'r" " Yes'm ; and it's a .vfully dangerous too. You see the old buck chuddas—the hair of the female isn't long enough—are awful cunning creatures. As soon as they see tho hunters are after them they take to their holes, and don't come out for two weeks at a time." " The poor things !" "Fact, ma'am; and of course all that time the hunters have to keep still and Avatch. They just camp right there, and take turns holding a slip-noose over the hole, waiting for the chudda to get hungry and stick his head out." "And does her" "That's just it; sometimes he does and sometimes he don't. Of course, if the chudda puts his head out and thoy get the rope around his neck, that settles it. All hands take hold, and they strangle the animal and yank him out in no time. If the chudda weighs OA-er nine hundred pounds, of course one of them has to sorter tunnel in under him and cutaway his too hold." "How mean r" "But half the time, you .oe, tho chudda doesn't stick his head out. Ho backs out stern foremost some night when there's no moon. The man on watch gets a noose over the animal's tail instead. Tho chudda waits till they all got a good grip, then ho starts in again and pulls the AA'holo gang right over the cliff—wipes out the entire crowd. That makes the expenses perfectly aAvful—don't you see V '

" Goodness gracious ! I hadn't no idea ! gasped the old lady. "I guess you lan wrap up ten yards young man, and throw in a remnink'or t.A'O fur patchin'."