The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1879-10-25
Hunters Luck.
The best laid schemes o mice and men
Gang aft agley;
And leave us nauglt but grief and pain
For promised Joy

and many from Ottawa had striking eXampl
of this few days ago. Indeed, to use the phrase
ii was complete "bust." big hunt had bee
talked of for some time; in fact it was to be tn
best, the biggest and oliest hunt Of their lives
one in which new recruits were to be initiated
into the glorious and sou-insprIng Amusement
of fox hunting; while many Of the odd sports
were to follow the trail for the last time and thc
Farewell long farewell
To hunters, hounds ana buge
1t was to be an occasion of JOY and gladness oil
one hand and rcpining grief on the other. |
was understood too, that when the hunt wa
over all were to retire to some shady spot, or be
meath the hosptablc roof of one OF their clan
there to appcasc the inner man and do justice Il
the good things that had been prepared for The
occasion;--I might say kind of a reunion
when the memories of old-timc hunts were to b.
resurrcctcd and the merits Of dogs and their cos'
running were to be ventilated, as well as to pay
a tribute to the memory Of the old hunters, who
| one by one had passed away,
| As Time flew on his rounds;
Who heed no more the bugle cal,
Nor b,yng Of the hounds.
! The morning Of the meet was a delightful one
for the soul.inyigorating chase; the mir was
balmy, yet scarcely breath Of wind disturbed
the solitude Of forest, field or prairie all nature
seemed to sumbcr, and naught was heard save
now and then the yelping Of some barnyard cul
! or the soft low note Of an approaching hunter,
bugle Delightful had been the weather fol-
everything except good trailing; but the hour
appointed for the gathering was very carly--an
hour when moonlight and dew would be abund
ant for the dogs to get good start and keep
REWARD on the run for hours after Sol had given
his morning kiss and flooded forest, field and
prairie with his glorious presence.
AT the appointed hour nearly fifty hounds were
on hand and over a score of hunters put in an
appearance, the names Of whom would take up
too much space to cuumerate, but suffice ii to
say that Ottawa Serena, Dayton Wedron and
other places were well represented.
"Let them 60" said Hank, and in moment
more away went the hounds in ell directions,
while every hunter held his breath to catch the
first yelp or note from the favorites. Minutes
seemed hours and time wore on, but still the 81
lence remained unbroken, and the chance for
starting game seemed dubious. After the lapse
of some time the silver. tongued notes Of Mill
gans Lady" aroused the hunters from their
reverie "Harkt" shouts the sheriff, as he lean
ed forward in his seat and listened for the next
tongue. Quick it came, and evident to all LA
DIV" was camping the fox alone. Up Buck Creek
they went but soon doubled, running close to
the river. Other dogs were thrown in, and then
the chase became lively one On went the fox
towards Dayton, and nearly score Of hounds in
hot pursuit, where after circlng a few times and
finding the chase hot one, Rcynarl made his
hole That was the finish and last Of the hunt.
Hours passed and daylight began to dawn, and
soon Old Sol rose from behind the eastern hills.
Hounds trailcd in all directions but not even the
smell Of u fox was to be found. Where they
went or what became Of them seemed to puzzle
or two later that the real cause Of the Dust
leaked out An individual, better known for his
"good looks" than gcntemanly instincts, went
to the grounds in the fore. part OF the night with
his dogs and drove all the foxes in. The more
astonishing feature Of all this cussedness is, that
he was rendered an invitation some days before
and knew all about it, but lacked the principles
and characteristics of man, for no man would
be guilty OF so mean trick as to spoil hunt OF
tHlo hiHh Ntii, IN WV oiu su"C
goes, "You can't make purse Of pigs ear"
SO 1t is needless to say more.
Sol was way among the higher notchcs, as
loud the bugle resounded, calling in the strag-
glers before the break up. After many happy
jokes and good deal OF wit on the part of a few
Of the originals to the cause OF their i'll luck,
the grand cavalcadc O. Of vctimized hunters
Home ward took their way
On Saturday c,ening, alter few of the dsap.
pointed ones Of the hunt before started out on a
little racket of their own, resolved to fathom the
truthuncss OF the reports to the failure Of the
previous hunt and see If there were any foxes in
.hc vicinity The dogs trailcd over the same
grounds and were not long in starting game
Add Roses "Nccte" raised the first fox and was
soon joined by others, taklag Reynard up Mig
ger Creek for a long distance, then ercling and
back down towards Dayton, where other dogs
joined the chase, the scent growing hotter and
hotter every moment, until Rcynard, finding
himself hard pressed, made for the ravne, which
winds through piece of woods in that vicinity
and there got the best OF the dogs by taking to
his hole.
After this some little time was spent in trail.
Ing before anything of 'gamcy" nature was
started The dogs had trailed as far as Wedron,
there leaving the woods and taking to the road
for some distance, thence into barnyard, which
stands back n ways and there 80 the surprise OF
all two foxes were jumped! 1t was moment
of intense excitement to the hunters and the
racket which the hounds set up was something
indescribable. The foxes started in different
directions, one crossing the meadow and on to
wards Niger Creek, while the other went down
the road, crossed and struck Decline for the ra
vine with some Of the hounds in hot pursuit
they, too, being divided, part having followed
the other fox towards Niger Creek. While this
was going on and the few hunters in high stat,
OF excitement, the peculiar yelping OF Tenn
pies True Boy from another direction gave evi
dence that still another fox was on the run! anc