The Baltimore County union. [volume] (Towsontown, Md.) 1865-1909, 1886-01-16
Those Cruel Ell,ridoers.-Tbe follow,

Those Cruel Elkridgers.-The following
appeared as an editorial in the Sunday Ne,os OF
10th instant, under the caption "Our Fox Hunt
ers >: at will soon be time for the Society for the
Prevention of Cruelty to Animals to interfere if
this ruthless and Unsuitable slaughter goes on
With a view to prevent official interference, the
INSCRIPTIONS press, to certain extent has tried
to deceive the public and screen the Elk Ridge
Fox-hunting Club. But our consciences will not
permit us to keep silence longer. We feel that
we should be party to this cruel massacre if we
did not speak up and let the truth be known.
at is an open secret to those who are 'on the
inside that the Elk Ridge Club is perfect fox
mill, it is extirpating reynard from the face of
the earth and soon that noble and sagacous ami
NAL will live only in legend if the S. p c. A..
does not speedily and vigorously interfere. Of
course the effort has been to conceal the real work
of the club. 1t given out each time that there
was splendid run, but that the fox went safely
to cover and the sport was innocently enjoyed
But the black and solemn truth is that many
dozens of foxes were slaughtered each time, it not
being considered days sport if less than five
dozen fell victims to the English hounds. Indeed,
it is limited that the pink uniform was adopted to
prevent blood stains from being prominent after
one of these scenes of carnage. Anise bags, drags
the purchase of tame foxes &C., it is gloomily re-
ported, have only been blinds to throw the public
off, rather than to throw the hounds on, the scent.
1t is moreover, whispered-and the countrymen
tell it under breath, because they have mortal
terror of those fierce and flaming riders-that the
new English dogs have peculiarly developed nos
trils, improved by secret process of grating,
that magnifes the smelling power and intensifes
it, thus enabling them not only to detect the scent
of the fox for many miles, but to draw the run
ming animal two feet backwards with every in
halation by the hound. The moment one of these
i'm nvad 30
pairing fox finds himself, despite all his frantic
efforts to escape, drawn irresistibly backwards
He claws the earth and manages to lump foot
or so forward when the hound exhales the air
from its lungs, either in the shape of pant or a
bark, but the inhalation draws him back double
the distance every time, until his escape is impos-
sible. When the whole pack is loose it is easy to
infer that some of them are inhalng while others
are exhaling the air through their nostrils-
Hence, the fox not only cannot run a step from
the spot where they first sniff in his direction, but
as they approach and their shifting is focused
upon him, he fairly tears up the ground in his
backward progress towards them. Sometimes
the shifting Of the dogs is so we'll adjusted that
the fox, though galloping apparently at great
rate, IS virtually held in one spot without making
an inch of forward progress. At other times he
is despairingly drawn backwards across whole
fields with increasing velocity until he falls into
the savage jaws of his pursuers.
"The objection raised by some of the hunters to
thisis that it creates too much dust in dry weather
The suction which draws the fox compes that
terrified and struggling animal to scratch up so
much dirt in its frantic efforts to escape to
der the air dusty and to throw sand into the eyes
of the hunters and sometimes into those of the
public. The objection by the farmers is that the
fox is sometimes brought within range of the
patent dog noses right in the middle Of a field,
and then it looks as if volcano had opened in
that spot and before the hounds arrive that whole
lot is scattered by the whirling feet of reynard
into the air. A great hole, large enough for a
fish pond, is what the farmer finds in his pet patch
after the hunters have gone.
"There is also another sinister report current
1t is to the effect that one of our ingenious fox
hunters has invented an india rubber horseshoe,
with spiral spring attachment, that works au
tomatically when the animal is spurred. Thus it
is that horse and rider enabled to bound into
the air, clearing not only fences and bitches, but
leaping over houses and trees as well. These
have frightened more than one ignorant and su-
perstitious bucoc, who has fallen on his knees as
these flying COLLINS passed by, and shivered his
teeth out in terror.
"These diabolical devices and inventions have
been sedulously kept secret from the public while
the havoc of foxes has gone on shielded by rdc-
uous reports of meets and runs that invaribly
wound up with the assertion that the fox escaped
Inc lruIn ls lnat 50 many brushes nave Deen
captured at each hunt that they have had to be
left in piles at convenient places to be sent after
by wagons at night. So numerous are the victims
to these improved methods of hunting that another
ingenious member of the club is busy constructing
invisible saddle bags which can be concealed
about the horses which will be capable of contain
ing at least ten dozen brushes and numerous masks
at is time public attention was called to these
facts for between our hunting and baseball clubs
we apt to be lulled into indifference or apathy
while really great achievements are going on under
our very noses-and those noses not improved
with any patent attachment to detect anything
wonderful. The foxes are being all killed off, and
their determination will be dead give away upon
our colored brethren who have taste for poultry.
This is, therefore, matter of some importance TO
a large and nocturnay industrious class as well
as to the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to
Animals"