The Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1837-1867, 1851-02-15

p .
Wilson detained me. I
"stop one moment" said he, "and you will q
witness d sight, such has never fallen under !
yauE eyea- -hst.4Feii he-.da-r you had latter !
spare your horse now, ne well have enough {
ior him 10 DO before shutdown" I
Judging from the cry of the hounds and :
the time which elapsed from the moUeus We
rsw the foS I'LL they crossed the road, they
must have been more than a mile distant from
him when they first mme upon a trail, They
drew near very rapidly, and, about twenty
yards distant from the path laksn hy tho ios,
three dogs with tteIruo.t loio,e % the rround
rwrVv urrU''rhe rUHri EtivrHT
jump
There 80 Music aud Whistler" shouted
Crampton.
"And Minos, too :" cried YYllsssi -i'f-- H. +
NY Old follow 7"
About twenty yards behind these three
leaders came the whole Of the rest of the .
pack together. yelling In full chorus lcould
scarcely believe il possible that the dogs
which were now rushing onward, at the top
Of their speed, full Of life, activity, and beau
ty, could be tho same bog gtarly animals which
composed the pack about NY friends door IA
the morning, It was spirit stirring 10 see
these animals, now duhiug on, without any
visible object Of pursuit, regardless Of all OBJ
staccs. | could no longer Withstand the
food Of excitement which whs carrying me
away, in spite Of nh my efforts and giving
free rein 20 the willing animal under me, was
soon doshng At full speed through the wood,
doddng, 40 ir by instinct, projecting limbs,
which threatened to dash out my brains, and
cingug with conyulsivc grasp To the sides
Of ny horse, 90 maintain my soat, asho scrap
cd me through the thickcts Of scrub pines.
looked back fora moment when / reached
an open field, aud troubled at the risks Of
that mad ride; yet did no more than the
rest Of my companions and no more than is
done every day, by hundreds who engage IN
the same sport. As soon as I got out into the
field, the hound, were again in full view, but
the fox was not 10 be- seen, The three dogs
VIZ first saw still kept Ia advance of the rest
Of the pack they pll drew near another
thickct which bounded the open plain, and
/ disappeared, l drew up 10 take breath, and
my companions were soon AZ my side. We
stopped here, aud determined 20 wait the re.
turn Of the Fugitive, rs the rod tox rarely ov-
or, runs more thln nine or ten miles in a
straight diroction. This. indeed, IS long
stretch The gray fox, which Is more album
danl IN some parts Of Eastern Virginia, ncy-
cr ruts so sr. suddenly the dogs ceased
they seemed TO be scpnraicd. aaA asir'eryHis,
-ou'y, d6 angry, inpatient bark was heard.
! "At taultr' cried Wilson; "Ill bet my life
the fellow has taken the back track, and
thrown them OH"
] "What do you mean" asked ,"hy his hav-
ing taken the back track ?"
These foxes, Roland have no undcservcd
-rcpuiAlinn for -cnnnins-Ihis-icllow -ailcr
having run straight forward for several miles,
has turned short about, and performed what
would seem very pcrilous manUuyrc-that
Of running back toward the dogs. But old
! Roynard knows what hC is 5i6iHg wtUn hu'
came back about quarter of mile, he turned
short or at right angles. made circuit, aud
is now, / haven't the least doubt, on his way
to his starting place. The dogs dash right on
without discovering this new trail and, sud
denly, at the place where hc first turned, they
find that they have lost the scent When
this occurs, wcltraincd pack will scat
ter themselves in every direction, as you may
now perceive that our dogs have done; as
soon as one falls upon the new trail, he gives
mouth TO thsT peculiar note which indicates a
l. ,,t1., - tln If a.,
lnstantaneousiy Join him, and they are of
again. l have known this manmuyre- 10 Inc
repeated several times 10y the same fox in
, one chase, But on this occasion they will
soon get straight again;ior, listen there goes
old Minos and when he utters that cry, you
may be sure he's near fresh trail"
"But how do you know that the dog we
now hear is Minos? am unable TO discov-
cr any difference between his note and that
of the other dogs"
''Bicss me, Roland, l can just MS readily
tell you the name of each one of my dogs II
a he opens his mouth when n whole pack is in
full cry, as a man can tell the voice of hi.
own wife amdngst dozen females, all talking
at the same moment But come, the dogs arc
, all in, and we must be OIL again
, Four times did the fox carry us over very
9 nearly the stnie route, and the dogs and hor-
! ses were becoming very much jaded. Sew.
eral Of the puppies had len the pack, and
were now skulleing about our horses heels
We caught glimpse of the fox about three
o'clock; he still seemed to move without
2 much 0tfdrt, but his straithy trot of the morn
. ing was somewhat quckened. The dogs had
r gained upon him, and the indefatgablo Mu-
c sic, Minos, and Whistler, had increased the
i. distance between themselp es and the rest of
q the pack, the greater portion of which con
' ' -tiireti however 10 run steadil VI etsld
not but look with astenishment on the power
: of endurance exhibited both by pursued and
. pus sucrs. This time the fox took a longer
: strtch, aud carried us to the shores of riv