National Republican. (Washington City (D.C.)) 1872-1888, 1874-11-23

nOeelL game Of dlleENaEAb NhASA A1-1NSN
until midnight In such party as ours it was
natural that men Of opposite and, perhaps,
cranky points Of character should meet, but
whatever Of jealousy there existed between the
owners Of the different packs Of dogs, or Of dis
similarity in taste between others, none Of 1t was
allowed 10 appear on the surface, and during the
ten days Of our absence from railway communiea-
tion-ten days without a sight Of daily news
paper or a wrangIe about politics; ten days with
out knowing the details c! the election returns,
and ten days Of pure delight-there was not a
word spoken and look given which did not betray
in the fullest sense generous hospitality and
grateful appreciation Of the common effort to
make the occasion one OF rare enjoyment. There
was one young man with Us,
JAMES PEAY, BY SANE,
an intelligent, generous, willing hearted fellow
of the landless class Of the country, who knew
the name Of every man, woman and child for
miles around; who knew all tine bride paths,
roads, fences, creeks; in short, who served US as
faithful and competent guide. No wonder with
such men as familiar with mountain hog-paths as
your readers are with Pennsylvania avenue, the
Confederate cavalry during the war were able to
go and come In the rear Of our armies as they
pleased; but Peay had his peeuliarities. He mis-
took Cliff Worden-in his underelothes, display
ing his fine muscled form-for one Of Robertson's
circus troupe and thought that two pairs ought
10 Dtdb bnIGSss 4ueA NltSlN was n OSNs-
lass. jr., fat, jolly blonde, counterpart Of his
father, the Little Giant, who provided cigars
for the entire crowd, with reckless generosity
which was equal even to our extravagant de-
mands But, in the last days hunt, Steve came
to grief. He had Jagged behind little with Tom
Krogh, Of Greensboro, and in his effort to catch
up, attempted to jump ditch too wide for his
mares reach. have seen pictures Of such acct
dents in English hunting scenes, but they always
ETY. ma fau afF md uhn-,
Steve's "ROck Of Ages" as the mare was named,
plunged headloremost into the quicksand at the
bottom Of the ditch, we all held our breaths with
anxious fear for his safety. The poor beast strug
gled hard, and Steve struggled harder. They
wallowed together for few moments, but finally
parted company as Steve, with more activity than
his flesh would suggest, crawlsd terrapin fashion
out on the bank, shook himself in the burs and
weeds like wet dog, and with face several
shades paleT than the stark white paper on which
this is written, relt his inevitable cigar, and pro-
cseded to extricate his mount. This was the
nearest approach to a serious accident that we
had, and when It was over was the occasion of
many hearty laughs. Judge Settle and Jim
Young were the victims OF another accident, how
ever. They were
RIDING IN HOT HASTE AFTER THE DOGS
down a steep decIivity, when they became en-
tangled in 4 grapevine and were nearly endorsed.
They cut them selves loose, however, and after
wards Jim Young, with his steadfast friend, Jim
Peay, followed the dogs so closely that when the
fox ran into hole in the ground, in deep valley,
they were so close as to catch q glimpse Of his
tail as he disappeared into the bowels of the
earth. That was one Of the granlest sights and
at the same time one Of the most ludicrOus tab
leauxs Of the hunt. DR.. Raine's dogs we're with
us that day, and a very fine pack they proved 10
be. The chase had lasted nearly thirty miles,
and Jim Young had been in the van all the while.
The old hunters who were in the rear told us that
the dogs had ''treed"-i. e., either ran the fox
into q shrub-tree or into hole in the ground.
They knew this by the peculiar baying of the
hounds and we rode faster than before to catch
up with them. When we reached the summit Of
the hill we looked over into the valley and saw
the dignifed executive clerk Of the Senate on his
hands and knees, paving the earth around the
hole in common with the (Other) dogs, his face
begrimed with mud and elongated with disap-
pOintment, while he struggled and fought, and
barked and hit as eager as any of his canine COM
panions to get into that hole. We sent for tools,
and worked three hours trying TO get Jim's fox
out, but failed. But Jim's rarest experience was
the last day.
HE RODE MULE.
A mischieEmaker put cOekle-burrs under the
mules tail. Jim quickly dismounted and waited
results. They came; so did the mules heels.
Quiet was finally restored; but Jim had no con-
fdence thereafter in his mule until going down a
steep hill, the beast stretched his hind legs for
ward and slid down on his launches, his tail
sweeping the ground behind, like the trail of q
lady's dress. OF course, Jim was the butt Of
many joke on this account, and when our
chaplain" Mr.. James, talked to him about It,
he could only reply bYrepeating one of James
cOnundrums when he had strayed away from tho
hunt, where in HIS them dOrgs; that's what
want to knoU?'' Mr.. James, by the way, is
straight-Out Democrat and never stock water in
his'n."
THE HOME OF A FoX-HUNTER.
During the ten days of our absence probably
the most enjoyable were those spent at the hog
pitable mansion OF Major Anderson, in Stokes
county. Bordering on the Mayo river, his plan
tation embraces over two thousand acres OF fer
tile land. Although he wsrks il all with profit,
he deyotes his time in the season mainly to fox
hunting. A man Of large frame, with voice
like the roll Of deep thunder, about fifty years of
age, a full, white beard, and tout ensemble
which reminds one Of the portraits We see Of Gen
eral K. Z. Lee, Major Anderson is exactly the
kind Of man one would expect to find in a hale,
hearty, generous fox-hunter, whose first love is
his amiable truly witty and accomplished wife
and children, but whose affection for his dogs
rests close to his heart Of hearts. Standing In the
pOrticO Of his house, his eyes sweep over a broad
expanse Of land, dotted here and there with
cabins, tobacco barns, saw mills and grist mills,
or with green pastures, in which hundreds Of
head Of fine stock are feeding, while from the
rear view are to be seen well-flled granaries,
barns and stables, all of which he can call his
own; but l verify believe that he would part with
all before he would dispense with his dogs. The
walls of his halls were decorated with the tails
OF reds and grays before our despoiling hands
stripped them, and in every part of his ''home
place. there were indications Of his extrGvagant
love Of the sport. He knows the pedigree of his
dogs for generations back. knows their voices as
distinctly as the voices Of his children, and can
recognize the leader in a chase miles away by the
sound Of his bGying. A venturesOme rider, and
always well mounted on an experienced horse, it
rested with his inclination whether he should
lead the hunt at all times, but with a rare eour-
tesy and delightful hospitality. he invariably
yielded the position Of convenience and pleasure
TO some Of his guests. 1t was to his experience
that we owed our great success, although Judge
Settle. who in his younger days was great fox
hunter, was not far behind him in the display of
hur ter's sagacity. One days hunt was much like
that Of any other varying only in the intensity Of
the excitement, and becoming more enjoyable as
we learned TO keep our saddles better and gained
confidence in ourselves. But all the while, from
hrst TO last, Major Anderson's blur, hearty
leadership marked a prominent feature iu the
long-to- be-remembered fox-hunt Of 1874.
A CHARACTERISTIC ANECDoTE.
II is related ofthe Major that on one occasion
when several Methodist clergymen were visiting
at his house. he betrayed his fondness for fox
hunting, and his utter absorption in the sport, in
a peculiar manner. He had been riding many
miles during the day with fellow fox-hunter,
Little Bob Scales" and during the ride they
had lost two ine dogs, lately presented to them.
They had eXerted themselves TO she utmost to re-
cover the dogs, and had tire themselves out. In
this tagged condition Major A. reached home,
and after supper joined his clerical guests In his
parler. Now Stokes county is place where they
"breaK" new elergymen into the harness, and
new elergymen, like new brOoms, sweep clean.
1t proved to be the case this time. The new
clergyman read chapter from the Bible, seven
ty-seven verses lOng-the longest he could con-
veniently finland read every line Of Il. With
serupulous anxiety to do his whole duty, he did
not avoid any part Of the ceremony,
and finally began an almost intermin.
able prayer. The Major was on
his knees devoutly relying upon a
rocking chair in front Of him for support during
the pending trial But be soon fell asleep. Tired
nature, &c. He dreamed. His lost dogs were
before him. He made one lunge TO pick them
up, yelled his loudest ''view halloo," sent the
rocker sprsWling against the side of the room,