The Logan County banner. [volume] (Logan, W. Va.) 1889-1903, 1889-09-26

Well. the hounds chased away into
the woods, and in q few minutes /
heard q terrible barking and bowling
and screaming Of the dogs. ~ II they
were just about to eat Mr.. For.
hurried through the woods in the di-
rection OF the sounds. Whom l GOT
nearer ] SAW the~fox lying on the top
OF an unfinished shanty, just a little
higher than the dogs could jump, and
yet beyond the reach OF my gun. He
lay fiat down, but he would move his
ears and cape and yawn as II he was
totally unconcerned at the hullabaloo
just below him. As / slowly ap-
preached he ran clear up to the edge
OF the board roof on which he was
sitting as II to jump. He got both
dogs on that side of the shanty waiting
for him, then turned quickly round
and ran across the roof TO- rickety
well pole that stood there. Down the
well pole he fed before the dogs were
well aware Of his intention. He cut
across some low marsh land on which
some prairie hay had been cut and
stacked and ran up hay-stack. Here
he entertained the dogs as before. He
would come down from the top of the
stack so as to be just little higher
than the dogs could jump; then he
would so conduct himself as to keep
the dogs busy jumping up and barking
at him while he rested. As I an
preached, he would go round on the
farther side Of the stack. so as to keep
it7between himself and me, and as /
walked around it. he would go around.
And the top OF the stack was always
between us. He thus entertained
us for about half an hour, till
Patrick, the Hibernian before men
toned, came up with long pole, and
approached the stack to beat him to
death or drive him around SO that
could shoot him, but when Patrick
approached the stack Mr.. Fox jumped
of and made his escape. That fall he
made my hennery another visit when
there some fresh snow on the ground.
| tracked him to his hole and there set
a steel trap near the mouth OF it, we'll
baited with fresh meat, and coveredit
over with leaves, and every day for
three months found the trap sprung.
but no fox. / finally concluded that
he jumped over he-trap -wlfen~he
came out and l set another trap about
two feet outside Of the first. Well, he
got caught there by the fore foot, and
he chewed his fore foot off and left it
in the trap. But he got we'll, and
often since then have seen the old
fellow running along and have fol-
lowed his track: in the snow. All the
settlers know him well. When he
runs he strikes the ground forward
like an unwilling mule whom COM
PEELED to go faster than he wants to,
and the settlers call him ..Limping
jim"
Ono winters day when new snow
was on the ground, about foot deep,
l found a dead goose in the morning
and saw Jim's tracks. concluded
that he could not run, now that the
snow was so deep. and that I
would murder him and have dono
with 1t. Well, l chased him and
ran4right straight to the Saginaw
Bay. about two miles distant. The
bay near the shore was covered with
new ice, extending out perhaps half a
mile from shore. The ice at the shore
would bear man but further out, as
the water became deeper and warmer,
the ice was thinner. till finally there
was none. We'll, Jim ran out on the
ice and the dogs were close after him;
he would run apparently with all his
might for four or five rods; then no
would jump to ono side and the dogs
would go sliding along twice as much
farther past him before they could re-
cover themsefves-Jim kept up this
play for an hour and seemed to enjoy
it hugely. He finally got out on the
the thin ice where he knew it would
not bear the dogs. The dogs would go
as near him as they dared to and the
ice would crack under them noisily,
when the dogs would howl and yelp
and. bark and return to the safer place.
Jim got upon his hind legs;r he barked,
he chartered. he made motionsgat
them, as the children say he made
faces" at them. till the dogs, forgetting
all ideas of safety, made a dash for
thim and broke through the Iceland
they could not get out. We got boat
and broke the ice out to Them and
rescued them, and Jim lazily trotted
away to his hole. 4.--.
Talk about instinct / tell you that
animals have reason.-A. c. Maxwell,
in Detroit Free Press.