What is a loop hole? I'm not talking about loop holes in laws, rules, or regulations. I guess I am trying to find the origin of that expression. I've seen everything from a pin hole to a fox hole. That includes knot holes, worm holes, rat holes, and a number of other holes, but I have never seen a loop hole. Is there something called a "loop" that goes around making holes?

On a recent trip to Georgia, I thought I had found the answer. I asked an old Georgia country boy if he knew of a creature called a loop, and he said that he certainly did. In fact he said he could show me some loops that lived in holes in a mud bank near his home.

So we got in his truck and went out there. Sure enough, there were a number of loop holes in the mud and what looked like little tracks leading in and out. The oGcb explained that loops were somewhat like muskrats, only different. They don't have tails and unlike muskrats, they are very particular about what they eat. They can't stand fish or pork, but they love corn and eat a variety in insect larva. But they are shy and won't come out of their loop holes unless it is very quiet.

So he got a big burlap sack and put some shelled corn in it and told me to hold the open sack in front of the loop hole. He said I should be very quiet and in a few minutes the loops will look out of the loop hole and see the corn. He said that more than likely two or three will rush out at the same time to get the corn and that would be the time to close the sack and tie a knot in the end. Then we could dump them out in a pen at his house and get a good close-up look.

So I got down on my knees in the mud and held the sack open in front of the loop hole. Then the oGcb said that he was going to get us a couple of Pepsis, and he would be back shortly. Then he drove off.

About sundown, I gave up and hitch hiked back to town. The next morning I saw the oGcb and mentioned that loop hunting was a lot like the snipe hunting that is very popular back in Tennessee. He agreed. In fact he said that he had heard that in Tennessee, the name for a loop was "snipe."

Somehow, I don't believe those were loop holes, but how could I know for sure? I've never seen one.
Howard