The daily chieftain. [volume] (Vinita, Ind. Ter. [Okla.]) 1898-1902, 1901-02-01

dog. unless II be well-bred and we'll
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 ] can
think of, says a writer in the Hartford
Times.
Our early education concerning this
animal usually begins with some nurs-
cry rhyme, in which "Reynard" fig
ures as a poultry thief In my own
case, / remember, ] was taught that
"a fox went out one winters night"
and that after an interesting series OF
adventures, in which he stole the gray
goose" and awakened the farmers
wife, he finally got back to his den,
where
''IIe 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 as nom
sense, forno one can say that the fox gets
his information concerning the poultry
yard at second hand. He studies the
carefully than the farmer does Par
ticularly does he give attention to their
bad habits. If some silly little duck
ling is fond of straying off, the fox
knows it, and he won't forget that
duckling. II some old fool of hen
thinks ii smart to roost outside in a
tree, instead of going into the coop,
the fox will quietly put her on his visit
ing list, and some fine night when she
has perched on branch rather lower
than usual, he will call around to see
her. He can leap to considerable
height when he wanl- to, and even If
he can't quite reach the hen, he will
make her so nervous that she will prob
ably fly, and come laundering to the
ground in the darkness. 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 expedition of this or any other kind,
and the man who invented the express
sion "as cunning as fox" knew what
he was talking about. Reynard dis
trusts everything, particularly man
and all his works. He will not even be-
lieve the unsupported testimony Of one
of his own senses. If his eyes tell that
a certain thing is ''safe," he must have
the assurance of his nose and ears as
we'll before he will believe it. This is
why he so seldom caught in traps. He
is caught this way, sometimes, but
not often enough TO warrant anyone's
sitting up to wait for him.
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
eve marks the movement of each clump
of grass, and he makes mental note
of the cause of the movement. THAT
one was moved by the wind" he says
to himself; that was an earthworm
-"but that Dumping suddenly side.
wise, and bringing his forepaws down
close together) was mouse" And so
of course, it proves to be; he knew ii
before he jumped, just as well as when
he wedged his sharp nose between his
paws and gobbled up the luckless little
rodent which was dead before it hao
time to squeak He catches grasshop
pers and crickets, too by leaping upon
them with his paws, and he sometimes
rushes out into shallow water and
seizes wild fowl lying asleep on its sur
face.
While he shows great ingenuity il
catching his prey, he shows still more
in avoiding capture himself. In Eng
land, where foxhunting is perhaps the
most characteristic sport of the peo
ple. there are innumerable stories o.
the art and cunning displayed by Rey
nard in outwitting the dogs. He fire
ouently misleads them by doubling OF
| his own trail. and in localities near The
coast he will often travel for lone
distance through the surf, which O.
course destroys the scent at once.
The American red fox does the same
thing. Like his slightly smaller Eng
lish cousin. he has wonderful endur
ance. and he, too. can give the hunters
and hounds long chase and Otter
beats them out at the end.
The home of the red fox is usually I
neat and often quite extensive burrow
generally having two or three open
ings. Here the young are born in Feb
ruary, March or April As rule ther'
are from four to six of these young
sters. but occasionally there are al
many as seven. They are blind a
birth and for some time are covered
with soft. woolly, reddish-colored fur
When they are very young the mothe