Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1900-12-25
SOME WAYS OF THE FOX.
His Method of Getting Over the
Ground is Unique.
From the Hartford Times.

l was once half-jokingly assured by an old
fox hunter that the red fox never ran; that
he was blown along by the wind and just
used his legs to guide himself with, and
after observing good many foxes 1 con-
Tess know of no active verb which ade-
quately describes their movements Even
greyhound IS clumsy, numbering animal
when compared with fox. Not that
greyhound cannot cover the ground faster,
but there is a certain Iightness Of foot in
the wild creature which is not even suggest
ed by any dog, unless it be a well-bred and
well-trained collie. A puff of reddish smoke
or loose ball of tawny fur blown along
close to, but not quite touching the ground,
would suggest the movement Of a red fox
as nearly as anything l can think of.
Our early education concerning this ami
NAL usually begins with some nursery
rhyme. in which 'Reynard' figures
poultry thief. In my own case, l remem-
Der, was taught that
Afox went out winters night,
and that after an interesting series of ad-
ventures, in which he stole the gray
goose" and awakened the farmers wife, he
finally got back to his den, where
He and his wife ate the gray goose up,
And the little ones picked the bones.
In this, as in many other nursery rhymes,
there is as much truth nonsense, for no
one can say that the fox gets his informa-
ton concerning the poultry yard at second
hand. He studies the habits of the inmates
perhaps more carefully than the farmer
does. Particularly does he give attention
duckling is fond of staying off, the fox
knows t, and he won't forget that duck
ling. If some old fool of a hen thinks 1t
smart to roost outside in a tree, instead Of
going into the coop, the fox will quietly put
her on his visiting list, and some fine night
when she has perched on a branch rather
lower than usual, he will call around to
her. He can leap to a considerable
can't quite reach the hen, he will make her
so nervous that she will probably fly and
come laundering to the ground in the dark
ness. The fox cubs will be introduced to her
later in the evening, probably, and she will
never answer the roll call any more.
But he is very cautious when out on an
the man who invented the expression las
cunning as a fox" knew what he was talk
ing about. Reynard distrusts everything,
particularly man and all his works. He VIII
not even believe the unsupported testimony
Of one of his own senses If his eyes tell
that certain thing Is SAFE" he must have
the assurance of his nose and ears as well
before he will believe it. This is why he Is
SO seldom caught in traps. He is caught
this way sometimes. but not often enough
to warrant any ones sitting up to wait for
him.
But the barnyard is only one of his many
sources of food supply. He is very fond of
wild mice Of different kinds. rats. squirrels
and rabbits. These he catches in various
ways. Sometimes he lies concealed near the
mouth Of a woodchuck's or chipmunk's bur-
row. and waits patiently until the proprietor
puts in an appearance. At other times he
scents his prey from a distance, and after
following 1t up. in the manner OF a pointer
dog, suddenly leaps upon 1t. He prefers
stratagem to direct pursuit. but when he
cares to be bothered with chasing anything
he can generally give 1t pretty good run
for its life.
He is a keen observer, too, and very little
goes on around him that he does not know
something about. AS he passes through a
meadow his quick eye marks the movement
THAT one was moved by the wind" he
says to himself; that was an earthworm,'.
-'sbut that dumping suddenly sidewise, and
bringing his forepaws down close together)
was mouse" And SO, of course. 1t proves