The Worthington advance. [volume] (Worthington, Minn.) 1874-1908, 1900-05-04

seward went TO the mouse ana secured
fish pole, hce and shovel. We
stood our guns up against a tree near
by and with the fishpole measured the
depth of the hole. Then Seward began
to dig down at the end. One of the dogs
was trying to dig in at the mouth of the
hole, while I held the other. Seward
had worked only little while when the
side of the hole facing the ravine broke
in and revealed the fox in the hole.
With the hoe pulled the dirt away
from the mouth of the hole that the
dog might have a chance at the
fox. The dog went into the hole
and the first thing he did was to grab
at the fox's tail. The dog had good
hold and stripped the hair from the
tail from the body to the end. When
the fox came out the dog grabbed him
by the neck. The fox clinched his teeth
on the flesh of the dogs cheek and they
had good fight. The dog let go his
hold on the neck of the fox and put
both feet against the fox to break the
hold of the fox on his cheek. The fox
AuAA3 VA anu 0N"oAu LOOA CAO 0AOVCJ
and pried the jaws of the fox apart
with the handle. When the hold of the
fox had been loosened the dog grabbed
him by the neck again and shook him
terribly. After the shaking the dog let
the fox fall to the ground:
"There amt any more fight in that
fox called Seward, and to all appear.
ances there was not. The fox was lying
on the ground limp and lifeless, it's
tongue out and its eyes about halt
closed.
"'You think there amt any life in
him, do your I said to Seward. We'll,
you just put the hoe handle under him
and give him toss.'
Seward did so and threw the fox in
the air. The fox landed on all tours
and was off in an instant over the edge
of the hill. I let loose the dog had
been holding and we went after the fox
at hot pace. AS we had placed our
guns against e tree we could not get
to them in time to shoot the fox. The
dog ran the fox up around the hill, into
ravine on the other side and out again
and over the brow of another hill. The
dog and the fox were just disappearing
over the other hill when Seward and /
mounted the hill on the side of which
we had just been digging. We could
see. that the deg was gaining and the
chances were that he would catch the
fox. We hurried across the ravine and
the hill and soon came upon the dog
and the fox locked together in fight.
The dog had the fox by the neck and
the fox had the dog by the cheek the
same as in the first fight. This time we
had our guns and soon shot the fox.
foxes were very thick around Little
Falls in those days. I remember ex-
aiming fox track one day that had
a peculiar crease in the snow alongside
it at frequent intervals. I saw this
track on several occasions, and it puz.
zled me a great deal. One day got a
shot at fox and wounded him in the
hip. He could not run fast, and fol-
lowed him to his hole. I set trap at
the mouth of that hole and waited I'M
til he got into it. I went there once
day and found that the trap had not
been disturbed. I concluded to leave
it and starve the fox out. On the eighth
day from the time tracked the fox to
the hole I found the fox in the trap.
The leg in which I had shot him was
in very bad shape and the animal must
have suffered terribly. Around the
back of the fox found strap and this
had caused the peculiar crease in the
snow as the fox lowered his head. This
fox had evidently been a pet at one
time or another and the strap had been
used to tie him up.
ION one other occasion I got fox
that had at an early period in his life
been pet. When was trying to skin
the animal by stripping the skin from
the back forward over the shoulders
and the head, I could not pull the skin
over the neck: try as hard as might.
I turned the skin back again and found
that he had on a collar. The collar
was skin tight around the neck; it
had been there long time and the hair
had grown over it until it was con-
cea!e6."-N. Y. Sun.