The Big Hunt

Litchfield’s “Big Hunt” was a popular fall event that was held at least a dozen times from 1871 through 1891. The hunt often started on a Thursday morning and ended at 1:00 p.m. the following day. All of the game killed during the hunt had to be property tagged and brought to a central location to be counted.

Litchfield hunters with their kill. The Meeker County Courthouse, built in 1885, can be seen in the background.

Each different animal was assigned a point value. For example, in 1876, a bear kill would be awarded 1,500 points. Dear were 1,000 points and wolves were 750. Larger birds such as geese, ducks, and owls ranged from 300 to 100 points, with gophers, squirrels, and black birds coming in at 5 points each. It doesn’t appear that any of the larger mammals were ever killed during the hunt. Ducks and geese made up the majority of each year’s take.

Every year, two teams were formed. Team captains were picked, usually based on the number of points they earned the previous year. In 1877, each team had 63 men, although only about half participated in the actual hunt. The teams’ points were tallied, and a winner was named.

After the hunt, a great supper was held, with the losing team being responsible for the bill. Each hunter was expected to bring some game, with at least some of it appearing on the menu. If no game was brought, the men faced a forfeit and had to perform a song or speech.

These suppers also included many toasts and time to recount the tales of the hunt, such as when Dr. Bissell bagged seven ducks with one shot or when Mr. Joubert’s cat ran off with his kill before it could be counted.

The evening’s entertainment would go well into the night. In 1876, a Mr. Campbell from Connecticut was placed under “attest” and faced a mock trial. He was charged with claiming to be a Meeker County resident and for joining in the hunt, where he “inhumanly” treated a rat and a black bird. As punishment for his crimes, Campbell had to compose and read a poem about the hunt. He was certainly in on the farce as he produced a humorous and lengthy poem from his pocket.

Not only was Campbell’s full poem written up in the newspaper, but the Litchfield News Ledger also included a detailed list of each hunter, their kill, and total points. For example, future Litchfield Mayor and team captain, Charles Strobeck, shot four mallards, six black ducks, and two plovers for a total of 1,050 points. In total, over one thousand animals, mostly birds, were killed that year.

It probably doesn’t come as a surprise that this intense hunting couldn’t last for long. By the mid-1880s, the number of hunters was dropping. In 1891, it was commented that “game is too scarce to make a hunt of this kind a success” and so the Big Hunt was brought to an end, much to the relief of the surrounding wildlife.