National Republican. (Washington City (D.C.)) 1872-1888, 1874-11-23
THE HORN OF THEHUNTER.
TEN DAYS HUNT AFTER RETN4RD
IN NORTH CAROLINA.

ENPERlENCES OF FON CHASE-JJbuFs
SETTLE AND HIS WASHINGTON FRIENDS
A DRAG" A CHASE, VIEW
CHAsE''-HOw THE DOGS wORKED-MU-
SIC OF THE HUNT OVER HILLS AND
MOUNTAINS, FENCES AND bitches.
THE horn Of the hunter is heard upon the HILL
was the involuntary quotation made by our
gang" OF city-bred Washingtoniaps. when, at
o'clock one morning, we heard the echoes Of
Dave Settles horn, as he called his dogs to-
gether for the days fox chase. We were gath
ered-ffteen Of us-at the plantation OF Judge
Thomas Settle, in Rockingham county, North
Carolina. However successful he may have been
as political leader and notably as the president
of the last Republican National Convention, the
Judges executive ability as q careful manager
shows 70 best advantage on Mulberry Island"
as the plantation is called. Bordering on the
Dan river, it embraces thousand or more acres
of mellow bottom land, and an equal number of
acres Of upland. But he does not reside there,
and the spacious mansion was partially occupied
by an overseer or tenant,
''FIGHTING DAVE MALLoY,'
by name and his family. Thus, though the Judge
played the part Of host, our creature comforts
were cared for by MallOy, and they were we'll
cared for. as a specimen Of yellOw-skinned,
taWny and brawny Southern working man Nal
10y was perfect, and withal proved to be decided
character" Born at New Bethel, a crossroads
town where the constant recreation Of the inhabi-
tants is lighting he spent the earlier part Of his
life in rOugh-and-tumble brawls the inyariable
result Of which was innumerable cracked skulls,
gouged eyes, noses bitten off and set crOssWays
over the faces Of the unhappy victims broken ribs,
sc. But MallOy grew tired Of this life, and finally
took TO farming or planting in earnest. At the
time Of which write he had control Of FIVE large
plantations, and gave employment to more than
a hundred male hands. We had expected to
rough 1t, as the phrase 60, when we reached Nal
lOy's house. for knew that It was not fully fur
nished, but were agreeably disappointed to ind
comforts, which included clean beds and bounti-
full table Maj Leonard W. Anderson, of Stokes
with his fine pack Of hounds, had accompanied
us, and in the morning, when Col. Dave Settle,
the Judges yOueger brother, called the dogs to-
gether, We found that the entire pack numbered
twenty-five. 4 foX-hound is not much for
pretty" Long ears, Topping over well-shaped
head, lean, lank, body, muscular limbs, aud
large feet go to make up the picture Of the best
looking ones. and they all have a very hungry
look. Their mouths arc very large and borlered
with heavy lat lips, through which the sound OF
their baying, when in the chase, comes with a
force that awakens again and again the echoes of
the country side. When
THE PACK IS IN FULL CHORUS
the noise Of their baying is certainly musical.
The sound strikes the ear aggregation OF
prolonged hOwls, one of which would be dis
agreeable, like the mOuTnful yelping Of your
neighbours dog at midnight; but in the tull
chorus Of the entire pack, as have said, there is
music-a thrilling, exciting music, which stirs
the blood, arOuses the animal spirits and urges
man TO ride faster than he would dare to under
other circumstances Over mountain roads, through
FIELDS and forests, almost regardless of neck and
limb. This we found to be the case, when Oh the
first days hunt, We reached Cedar Point, and the
dogs began drag" A drag, be It known, is
he Mi fpla nFo -an
the dogs follow with difficulty, because it has
grown cold. But as they approached the fox's
quarters and the scent grew warm, the eager
ness Of each dog TO take the lead of the pack was
something marvellous With a sagaciOus instinct,
superior to human intelligence, they never failed
from the time they began the chase until poor
Reynard had been hunted down, cornered, and
had become the victim Of their cruel vengeance
When the hunt began, we found it necessary to
ride up the side Of a steep hill, almost large
enough to be dignifed by the name OF mountain,
the crest Of which the old hunters Of the party
knew the fox would run. jim Young, mounted
, on superb Observation-Disclosures Bitters'-ex-
perienced some difficulty in climbing this ascent,
as his saddle was loose and exhibited a natural
tendency to grayitate his horses tail. Stop
ping to tighten his girth-"belly-band he called
1.-THE, with myself got separated from the rest OF
the party, and enjoyed for short space OF time
the felicity of being alone with each other'' in a
strange forest, and the possibility staring US in
the face Of being lost. Very soon, however, we
heard the gruif, deep bass Of Major Anderson's
voice crying to his dogs, and encouraging them
TO KEEP THE SCENT.
That's It, Lee" That's 1t, Nusie!'' That's
1t, Drummer" "Hurrah. my pretty dogsr' ''Co
on; go on! Stay byH' were few OF his cries, and
we answered them with hoops and yells which
had the effect TO disconcert the. entire hunt, and
bring upon our verdant heads the reproachfuI
criticism of being I'D FOOLS" Our horses knew
more than we did, however, and in few moments
carried US safely through the dense underground.
over the rocky side Of the mountain, to the level
crest, where we found the party enjoying the first
libatiOn Of the day; for 1t is customary to take
swig of apple brandy whenever the dogs strike a
new scent. After paying discreet homage to this
conventional requirement, we found ourselves the
victims Of a most novel sensation. The dossWere
before us, each with tail erect and wagglng or
waving in the ecstacy Of seeming the game, while
their deGp-mOuthed bayngs made the Welkn
ring. 1t was pretty sight. With their noses to
the ground, snuffing among the frost-cOTered
leaves, trotting, running, walking, and working
as hard as dogs ever worked before, they re-
minded US Of colony Of giant piss-mires, suddeR-
ly disturbed by the stick Of mlsehevious boy.
Finally one OF them struck the trail in earnest,
and bounded off with the speed of lightning sis
he reliable?" asked one of the hunters. Eyes, in
deed, replied MAJOR Anderson, the owner of the
dog, "l'd bet more on his having the trail than l
would on mule race" Then the hunters began
TO rally the pack to follow the reliable dog. This
was done by cries Of 'hark, bark on, bark on, my
pretty dogs!" &c.,-the dogs apparently under
standing the words better than we did ourselves.
At last they all started, and as have described,
followed the drag until they Jumped" or started
the fox.
WE FOLLOWED THEN PILL NELL,
heller skelter, each rider urging his horse to the
front, through the woods, up hill and down dale,
over gullies and over rocky bOulders, going,
going with the speed Of the wind, every nerve
stretched 10 its utmost tension, the brain wild
with the whirl Of exhilarating excitement, each
man striving 10 Guido HIS neigh Jor anil all bent
upon being in at the catch, nc matter what the
consequence. Occasionally the hunt would wind
around the base of hill, following a valley,
thereby enabling US to make short cuts over the
crest and meet the chase the opposite side, and
again, by sudden turns and unexpected runs we
would lose sight Of the dogs, though they were
rarely cut Of hearing, and under such eircum-
stances the skill and experience Of the old hunt.
ers became available, !and enabled US to reioin
the hunt without material loss of time. What
with hats being knocknd of by protruding bOughs,
noses skinned by switching pine branches, knee
pans scraped by impudent saplings, and clothing
torn by the Jagged ends OF broken limbs the ride
was not altogether wi bout its Inconvenience; but
verify belleVe that eN cry maui the party would
have kept up so long his horse could stand it If
the race had been for nifty instead of twenty-five
miles, and If the trees and rocks had been orna-
mented by the ears, fingers arms and legs torn
from the bodies Of the reckless riders. As it
was, we rode with the hounds when they struck
the evieW chase"
]. T., TIE FOX IN SIGHT,
like so many devil possessed lunaties, carried
beyond the bounds Of discretion by an ntoxicatIon
which served to drown all idea of bodily fear and
Danish all thoughts Of physical injury or pain,
until the fox was caught and the teeth Of as many !
dogs as could get hold Of him were buried in his
quiyering carcass. No one Of us had any ad-
vantage over the others, as regards being FIRST at
the death. for we reall very near together; but
by common consent the tail or ''brush' was gwen
to our Washington party, and was brought to the
city BY Jim Young. Tagged, jaded and tired,
we soon found ourselves 70 be when the excite
ment was over and We had come down from our
exhilaration to be simple, cool and selEpossessed
human beings again, and those Of Us who were
unaecustoned to horseback riding found our
selves. oh, so sore. Not q muscle in our bodies
but had been stretched or jerked by the violent
exercise, and Is We rode home there were fears