Morning journal and courier., 1891-01-07
ABOUT ANIMALS.

The Little Connecticut Foxes.
 Farmer Nathan Halleck of Pleasant Val ley, in the rocky, rural town of Lyme, five miles west of New London, had avery early caller on New Years day. He heard big noise in his hen roost and soon arrived there with his double duck gun, and then over the tall pickets came big tawny ami nal at single leap that crossed to the dooryard as swiftly as sun shadow, and darted behind the old-fashioned well curb, snarling fiercely.
 The animal sped along so quickly that the farmer did not attempt to shoot at it then, but he moved instantly into range of the game, which was a monstrous large and powerful wildcat, and gave him one barrel of the heavy shot. The shot was quick and good one. The cat leaped in stantly four feet straight into the air, fell back and rolled over and over in terrible death agonies, clawing at the frozen earth and snow. Again the farmer pulled up his piece and gave the cat a second barrel of shot, and the beast, with a wild howl, rolled over on his back dead.
 The whole house has been aroused by the ear-splitting yells of the cat, and a proud man was Farmer Halleck as he fast ened to the hind legs of his game and drew it to the doorstep where his family could get good look at it. The cat was the biggest one killed in Connecticut this cen tury. Its weight was B pounds.
 It evidently came from the wild region of East Lyme, two or three miles away, which is the nursery of about all the wild cats that have been killed in the state. No less than 40 East Lyme wildcats have been killed in the past two years.
 HIS PET FOX.
 Not long ago Bryan Atwater of Berlin dug silver gray fox out of a burrow and kept him at his home for pet, but one night the animal slipped away into the woods. Bryan was on his track early the next morning and soon his tired hounds drove his game into tree. Up the tree the hunter went, captured his pet, took him homo and put him in 8 strong prison. l Fifty dollars have been offered to him for the animal, but he wont part with him. A CUNNING FOX.
 A lady driving along the country road near Windsorville saw large fox trailing along the highway with the easy air of a house dog, and she whipped up. her steed. | | kept an interval of ten rods between him. | self and his pursuer. Now and then he hung his head over his shoulder and seem- | ed to smile at the woman, as foxes do when
 they are "tailing off" an innocent person.
 The fox led the procession for a mile or
 more ,and almost into a village on the way,
 then he grinned funny farewell to his partner in the chase, slipped nimbly over a
 wall and was off across the lots.
 l QUICK WORK.
 1 Bert Coe of Midd1efeld also had queer
 adventure with fox. He was hunting
 deserted a fox on the summit of hill, and
 was off in pursuit of that game with the l speed of the wind. Bert couldn't stop his dog, which followed the track without bay. ing. The fox evidently believed he had a
 slow going hound to do with, and discov-
 ering his error when it was too late to
 rectify it. The setter drove the animal
 out of cover and directly past his master,
 who shot the fox within five minutes after
 the game had been started.
 RECORD AS A FOX KILLER. 1 Alden Miner of North Stonington last year killed ffty-nine foxes, but good
 share of them were little foxes, whose
 bones he invaded with plckax and shovel. l IN STAMFORD.
 l Success has attended MT. Walter Elmer.
 son in this his first year of raising chick
 ems, geese and ducks by natural and artif- cial means in Stratford. He has the exten-
 sive matching houses on the Judson place.
 MT. William H. Plumb occupies rooms on
 the premises and has general oversight of
 the establishment MT. Emerson has all
 the most approved modern appliances fo1
 the business. His success this year has
 been unusual and he will go into the busi,
 ness much more extensively during the
 coming year and will make specially of
 broilers and ducks.
 l A CANINE MAIL INSPECTOR. As the mail train arrived at the west
 side station, Norwich, at 10:4s a. m. Mon.
 day 8 good-sized Scotch terrier jumped from the car and took his seat on the