Wyandot County Republican. [volume] (Upper Sandusky, Ohio) 1869-1903, 1872-09-12
Miscellany.
FOXES.


Few animals have their character bet
ter impressed upon their faces than foxes.
Sharpness of nose aud ears imparts to
the fox an expression of astuteness that
really belongs to him, while cunning is
plainly denoted by the oblique slope of
his quick, distrustful eyes. In all ages
and countries innumerable stories have
been told of the wiles practised by foxes
to evade pursuit, or decoy birds and small
animals within their reach; and hence it
is that the fox has long since been adopt
ed as the emblem of cunning and sagacity.
When l was boy very small cub-fox
was brought to me, and l took every
possible means to reclaim it from the /
wild nature already displayed in every
action of the little beast. At first it re-
fused food, but hunger soon conquered
its obstinacy, and it partook freely of
bread and milk. As it grew up, which it
did very rapidly, we used sometimes to
give it cooked meat, for a change, but
were careful to debar it from raw meat,
or from taste of the chickens at which
it used to cast such longing glances, as it
is well known that the flavor of blood
will develop the savage qualities of wild,
carnivorouS animals. | was particularly
anxious that Sly-for that was the name
given to the little stranger-should live
on friendly terms with certain terriers and
other dogs about the place, and to this
end introduced him, while yet very
small. as much as possible into their
society. eAt first his instinct seemed to
tell him that dogs are the natural enemies
of foxes, and not to be trusted. He would
snap and snarl viciously if a dog made
playful advances toward him, and rather
had the better of the dogs now and then.
After while, however, seeing that these
dogs-whO acted under orders
did not molest or hurt him, he became
very much at home among them, and
would play with them after the manner of
kitten. 1t was not until he was several
months old that he would suffer hand
to be laid upon him. He would take food
from the hand quite gently, but if you
tried to pat him on the head, his sus-
picions would be aroused at once, and
he would show his teeth and shrink away
from you. This distrustfulness is very
characteristic of foxes. Raccoons and
offers, when taken young, become tame
at once, and, instead of playing shyness,
will even force themselves impudently
upon their protectors but the fox ap
pears to have settled it in his mind that
man and all other animals are his enemies.
After while Sly got over his distrustful-
ness, and then he would leap up as dog
uOtS duu SullGT ul1uSGll LO Do CdleSSSu.
He was generally kept chained to a
dogs kennel, and it was very entertain
ing to watch the man9uvres by which he
used to try to decoy the chickens and
sparrows within the length of his chain.
Some of the remains of his meals were
usually scattered about near his box, and
these attracted the fowls, to deceive
which he would pretend to be fast asleep,
and then jump out to the length of his
chain when he thought he had one within
reach. l do not remember, however, that
he ever caught fowl by this piece of
strategy. Before he was a year old he
used to follow me about the country
along with the terriers and other dogs,
much to the wonder of the rustics, who
did not believe that fox could be tanned.
And his tameness cost the poor little
beast his life, at last; for, during my alb
sence from home for some time, he was
not properly looked after, and was
chopped up by a pack of hounds, to
which he ran, doubtless, with the inten-
ton of inquiring what all the row was
about.
The fox is luxurious rascal, less glut-
tonOus than epicurean in his tastes, and
he does not usually destroy more poultry
or game than he needs for his immediate
use, as the members of the weasel family
almost invariably do. Sometimes his
epicurean tastes lead him into snare, a
notable instance of which once witness
ed. Sauntering along the banR of wild
woodland-river, one day, with my rifle, l
came upon the tracks of fox in the vel
low sand. These I followed until they
led me to cutting in the bank from
which sand had been removed, and here
the object of the fox's visit to the spot
was at once discernible. The place was
haunted, as I had frequently observed, by
alarge tortoise, or turtle, which had de-
posted cluster of it's eggs in the warm
sand, and upon these Master Reynard had
been making sumptuous meal Pro
curing steel trap, | set it for him after
the manner in which trappers take mar
tens and other fur animals. First I cut a
long hickory sapling, sharpening it at the
thick end, which drove down firmly
into the sand, propping some large stones
against the foot of it. Next l bent the
sapling down to the ground, where fixed
it with notched peg, so slightly that a
moderate pull would displace it and up it
would go, thus preventing the animal
from getting steady tug, and so break
ing away from or with the trap. Then 1
fastened the trap with some strong twine
to the top of the sapling, covering It light
ly with sand, and batting it by scattering
some of the eggs around it. For two
udyS LILY 6Idp I6ludlucu DuG on
the third morning found splendid red
fox in it, swung up by the sapling.
When foxes become accustomed to be
hunted with hounds, as in England, the
wiles made use of by them to evade thei1
pursuers evince degree of sagacity tha
borders closely upon reason. A fox will
put the hounds at fault, for instance, by
running through flock of sheep, by
which mannuvre the scent is vitiated
thus giving him an opportunity of getting
away with good start. Another com
mon trick with hunted fox is to paddle
along in the bed of brook for some dis
tance, by which means the scent is lost tC
the hounds, and Reynard gets so fal
ahead of them as to save his brush fol
that time, at least. The bad esteem in
which the fox is held by all the feathereG
tribes, is often fatal to him when hunted
AS he goes cunningly along by hedge
or IN hollow, for example, his course il
shown by the birds that keep f1ying aboy,
him, the loud revilings of which adyis,
the huntsmen of his whereabouts Tn th,
foX-hunting districts of Great Britain. fl
kill fox with gun or trap, or in any othe
way than by hunting him down witt
hounds, although not by any means con
traryt to law, is looked upon by sportsmel
as an objectionable offense, and has fire
quently been punished by social ostra
cism. Even the farmers, whose hen