The Elk County advocate. [volume] (Ridgway, Pa.) 1868-1883, 1878-01-10
The FOx's Stratagems.

In Scribner's Magazine for January,
Il. E. Robinson has an article on " Fox
Hunting in New England" from which
we make the following extract But
think not thus early nor with such sue
cessful issue is every chase to close.
This was ended before the fox had used
any other trick for battling the hounds,
but his simplest one of running in cir
cles. An hour or two later, an old fox
finding the dogs still holding persistent:
~ to all the windings of his trail, would
have sped away to another hill or wood
mile OF so of, and would have crossed
newly p'owed fields, the fresh eartll
leaving no tell-tale scent would have
taken to Travelled highways, where dust
and the hoofs of horses and the foot
steps of men combine to obliterate the
traces of his passage or have trod gin.
gerly along many lengths of the top
rails of fence and then have sprung off
at right angles with 1t to the ground,
ten feet away and then, perhaps, have
run through flock of sheep, the strong
odor of whose feet blots out the scent of
his. These articles quite bewilder and
battle the young dog, but only delay the
elder who knows of old the tricks of
foxes. Nothing can be more admirable
than the manner of his working, as he
comes to the edge of the plowed field.
He wastes no time in useless pottering
among the fresh turned burrows, but
with rapid lopes skirts their swarded
border, till, at far corner, his speed
slackens as his keen nose catches the
scent again in the damp grass he snuffs
Mt it an instant to assure himself, then
sounds loud, melodious note, aud goes
on baying at every lope till the road is
reached. Along this he zigzags till he
finds where the fox has left it. And
now comes the puzzling bit of fence.
The old dog thinks the fox has gone
through it he goes through it himself,
but finds no scent there puzzles about
rapidly, now trying this side, now that
ut last he bethinks himself OF the top,
| to which he Chambers and there finds the
missing trail. But his big feet cannot
tread the "giddy footing" Of the rail
! as could Reynard's dainty pads, ~ down
| he goes and tries on either side for the
point where the fox left the fence.
Ranging up and down, too near i, 10
hit the spot where Reynard str1ek the
ground he fails 10 recover the scent,
stops-raises his nose aud rssesz I0ra'
mournful howl, half yeIAsi0n, half d.
spair. Nov he cli1nbs TO shs top rail
further OH and snufs il these. " No
taint OF foI's foo. il here, 81 he rsE-
sons, "and be must have jumped FROM
the fence between here and 5b= pI1ae
where 1 found II, and acting on this
| logical conclusion, he circles Wildly Ill
he has picked up the trail olse more,
and goes meETiIy on to the sheep pasture.
Here, satisfying himself Of The characte,
/ of this trlck, he adopts the same plan
/ employed at the plowed field, and after
a little, finds the trail on the other side
and follows it to the hill, but more
slowly now, for the fox has been gone
some time the frost has melted, the
moisture is exhaling and the scent grow
ing cold. The fox bas long since reached
the hill and half encircled it, and now
hearing the voices OF the hounds so fal
away and SO slowly nearing, has bestowed
himself on the messy cushion of knoll
for rest and cogitation. Here he lies
1 for half hour or more, but always aier
and listening while the dogs draw SLOWLY
on, now almost losing the trail on a dry
ledge, now catching it in a moist, propi
tious hollow, till at last nearer burs
warns poor sly-boots that he must again
mp and away.