Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1904-12-17

Written for The Evening Star.
The Meadowbrook Hunt Club. on Long
Island. twenty miles or thereabouts from
New York, owns more hounds, probably,
than any other hunt club in existence,
There are 200 of them, divided into three
packs-1Oo are English fox hounds, while
the other 100 are part American fox hounds
and part drag hounds. The English fox
hounds are nearly all late importations; the
American fox hounds are of old Virginia
stock: the drag hounds, though of -Ameri-
can breeding came originally from English
stock which has been carefully kept from
contamination. So far as is known there is
no single club in England, the home land
of fox hunting. which owns so many
hounds Certainly no other American
hunting organization has many.
The Meadowbrook Hunt Club has another
distinction Its master of the hounds Z. F..
Collier. the publisher, is the oldest man
holding such place in America. He is not
far from seventy, one way or the other;
undoubtedly he is The hardest rider 10
hounds of his age in this country (unlcss
some unknown southern gentleman leads
HIM. and so far as heard from, he has no
peer in this line on the other side of the
water either.
Only the other day he led three hunts in
one day-With the English fox hounds at
10 o'clock with the American fox hounds
at / o'clock and with the drag hounds at
s. He was in the saddle almost continu-
ously eight or nine hours; he rode about
forty miles, for each OF the runs was at
least ten miles long, and he rode the hVe
miles from the first to the second meeting
place and the three miles from the second
to the third. He beStrode at least six sep
arate horses that day. making a change
whenever his mount was tired, and at the
end seemed remarkably fresh and un-
wearied, considering the ground he had
,,,I . Stjf I.yr lore hn had tai,
His friends and fellow-huntsmen declare
not only that he is the hardest rider of
his age they know anything about, but
that they never heard of any one of any
age attending three such meets in one day.
A Real Sport.
Mr. Collier is said to be prouder of his
success as a crcss-country rider than a
publisher. 1t is his intention this year to
ride TO the hounds with the members of the
club all winter. if the weather permits,
as 1t often does on Long Island. His son,
z. +. Collier jr.. cares much less for the
sport than the older man. rarely attending
a meet unless some social or business en-
gagement prevents the latter from put
ting in an appearance.
The senior Mr. Collier has been "a good
snort for more than generation. Some
years ago he most enthusiastic stag
hunter. He kept a tame stag then, which
he used to release on occasion, when he
WOULD invite MS lIltluS 10 JOll MIN III the
chase with a pack of hounds. The stag
was a fine runner and seemed to enjoy the
sport as well the men who pursusd him.
or the dogs either. No matter how fleet
the dogs, they never caught the stag.
When he was tired out he would find his
way to his paddock, where he would clear
the eight-foot fence at Il bound. Once in
side he could turn and view with disdain
the impotent efforts of the hounds to get
at him. Notwithstanding the complete
harmlessness of stag hunting as practieed
by Mr.. Collier and his friends. it was
stopped by order of the Society for the
Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. l have
heard but have not verified the statement.
that the stag is still alive. veteran OF a
hundred hunts.
The Meadowbrook Hunt Club is the old
est in America. II was formed in 1876, A.
Belmont Purdy being one of It's chief pro-
motors Its location near Hampstead was
determined by the proximity of the curious
stretch OF territory in that neighborhOod
known as the Hampstead Plains. This
territory treeless, almost level and with