The above video of a jack rabbit roundup near Rupert, Idaho in 1931 is a reminder of two things: 1) how wildly out-of-whack American lands got at the turn of the century, and; 2) that Ken Burns' two-part, four-hour documentary on the Dust Bowl will air November 18th and 19th.
I have written about the Dust Bowl jack rabbit roundups in some detail in the past, and even got an email from a researcher for Ken Burns when they were putting together their documentary. The four links at the bottom of this post tell the story of how it all came to pass.
A special thank to Doug P. for sending the above video link! The video, below, has sound, and is from Kansas in 1934.
Note that "Jack Rabbits" are not actually rabbits -- they are hares.
1 comment:
It is amazing how our unintended impacts on the environment drive history. As we reach Thanksgiving it is worth thinking about the Great Colombian Exchange and how malaria helped to establish the British colonists and then helped to defeat the British in the revolution.
http://www.charlesmann.org/articles/NatGeo-Jamestown-05-07-1.htm
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