The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1881-04-09

Correspondent Chicago Field.)
| OTTAWA, ln-IsIk about hunters and
hounds, aud glorious hunts

Through fertile fields
And de~y woods"
and Ill that sort of thing; hut here 10 La Sale
county we have more OF all three than the rest
ut the state ar perhaps any two states IN the
Union can hn,st Of! 1t there il q reader OF
the Chicago Fieid that doubts the truth of this.
al he la, 10 do il To make the acquaintance ut
II few Of our hunlers-remain u short time
among them, when they will 'trOt OUT tor
his prisl,r" more hounds, treat him TO more
glorious hunts, and all
"rhat minicry Of noble war;"
,har ever he SAN lelUre-indced, he will imag
me h,mScf Transported to The gladcs OF MIN
rcd. HE mighty hunter. He will lind them
TOR The most part Among the toilers OF the land,
and composed Of lhust
Tha, love the hunt for the sport II gives,
Aud run the rhu.c for its wild excitement.
Your correspondent has met them on THE
field If Mns," and followed their hounds. rs
on, nlon The broad and beautiful prairies they
t,k the ,ra,l, or up one of the deep ravines or
du>cly wooded canyons. and thence along the
hlutf- uf one If the many streams that cross
these unduiaiing prairies. have also met
them in "tlmes of PEI c." at home amid their
rustic iiiesdrs, enjoy ing that luxury and pros
ipclity whmh TALL but To the lot of few; and
have ever fund them the same genial, jolly
NlmrrdS many IF them, the old settlers ct
the county, whose snow white locks and wrin-
| kleh brows might tell of hunts OF forty years
ago, when they chased the buffalo over the
plain, and followed the deer through his then
accustomed haunls; Others,
"With anxious eye have wandered DER
These prairies, meadows, moss and moor"
Tor over u quarter Of y Century-led on, from
time To time, hy the deep.mouthed tongueing
of Isl Huhert's breed" while the younger
Nlinrods boast of US spirited chases, and ~
Glorious hunts rs were ever followed by their
noble srrs.
Their grounds, without exception, are the
finest on the American conti1ent, If not In the
world; and although not Erazed on by the
buffalo and the deer rs IN days OF yOre, their
game is yet abundant. Centering within u
few miles of Ottawa, they stretch away for ov-
er twenty miles, ont upon the great pra:ries,
which ut intervals are crossed by limpid
streams, along whose hanks are shady groves
ard wooded bluffs, broad ravines and deep
canyons, atfording the finest runways and shell
ter for game Of every nature. They extend
along the waters OF the Fox to fair Aurora's
lfarotf Shores" whose wooded banks and pic.
,uresque bluffs are unsurpassed for their mild
grandeur, style and beauty. Through the his
toric regions Of Big Indian, Somonauk and
{; Mission Creek, every foot Of which has been
consecraed by the blood of the early settlers
? who persisted at the hands of q savage and
lreentless foe; over that section of country
bordering on the Big Vermillion, with its sha
= DIV groves, tmbered heights and wondrous
parks, and all that might lie styled "Nimrod's
paradise" And last, though not least, the
beautiful valley of the Illinois, through whose
rocky gens and deep canyons. the baying oi
! The hounds echoes with melodious sweetness
and finally that heavenly music" as the hunt
n NM
bluffs; while the hunter, if he chose, from the
lofty summit of Starved Rock" or standing
amidst any OF the many craggy peaks,
"With all delight the rapid course may view.
And greatest joy, the circlng race pursue"
These we're the happy hunting grounds over
which the mobile red man" roamed and
. hunted long efOre the pale face" knew
, Of his existence. These were also the an
, cent battle grounds of the warlike Potta
! wattOmies in their encounters with and fina
' determination of the lllinois-the mobiles,
tribe that ever roamed the forest Over these
same grounds the buffalo roamed in all his
pristine freedom. In the solitude Of their
, groves the deer and wolf reared their young
and the "wild fox dug his hole unskeart"'
The buffalo has Icing since left the prairies
and the deer Is seldom seen IN his early haunts
but the volt and cunning ReyLard yet remain
and it Ia after them that these jolly Nimrods
mount their feet steeds, and as rings out the
, Changing horn,
Q "Hills, dales and forests, far behind remain,
1 While the warm scent draws on the deep
/, mouth'd traiu."
Q Their hounds are numerous, and many OF
{ them of the best blood In the country, some OF
!. which were imported from the East and South
{ and not few from Merry England, the Emer
{ aid lsle, and even Bonnie Scotland. Their
I, od noNlu mi ar hYY
hounds--but this IS not all, rs there are Others
1 whose owners are not "actives," but are looked
G upon as "pot hunters" and who scarcely ever
join any of the grand hunts from time to time
gotten up There are many excellent hounds
among these, and counting them in, II IS safe
] TO estimate at least four hundred fox hounds In
the county.
, Their hunts at times are glorious, and often
very exciting! their grounds so admirably
? adapted, and affording such splendid sweep
of country; their hounds so numerous, and,
like St. Hubert's breed,
Unmatched for courage. breath and speed"
while many of their steeds,
r Like James Fltz James gallant grey,
Il Will run from dawn till close OF day!
!, After all, this is the most glorious mode of
hunting, at least the noblest and most soul.
' inspiring; mounted on a melted steed. with
' the game ahead, and dogs in hot pursuit, you
, go bounding after them, Cheered by the hay
| ing Of the hounds, which. Intermingled with
> an occasional bugle note, thrills the soul, and
s at certain moments the vibrations from
, hounds and horn would seem to break forth
i in heavenly strains. when in the ecstacy OF
the moment you rein your steed and breath
Ilessly listen to the enchanting echoes that are
lbeing waited over prairie, peak, and bluff
!. This, too, Is the most honorable, for the game
4 Is given wide chance tor life; and if by cum
Il Inlng, speed or Stealth he battles his pursuers
/ and gets away from them, every true Nimrod
will wish him bon coydge.
Fox hunting is their standard, or, at least
# predominant, with, however. an occasional
Y wolf, IN imported deer, and other small game