Hopkinsville Kentuckian. [volume] (Hopkinsville, Ky.) 1889-1918, 1905-09-07


by something other than the wind. I
stopped and moment later 1 saw a
fox, or at least the head and back Of
one moving steadily through the grass.
There was no hitch or pause in that
wondrous gait; the grass, the ferns and
the daisies simply parted aNd the fox
passed through them. swifIly, smooth
ly. From the small size and light color.
felt sure it was a vixen, and in her
mouth she carried some large object
what it was, l could not tell. l gave
a sharp whistle, and at the same time
raised my field glass The little crea-
ture stopped instantly, with head
raised and ears acock--a tawny, craven
image-and I could see that what she
carried was a Plymouth Rock hen in
whose feathers her jaws were com
pletely buried.
Only for a moment she paused, and
then went on, as silent and more swift
ly than before. | followed her trail,
and it led me first into valley, along
the bank of brook, to a point where
the fox had crossed on some stepping
stones, which showed the wet prints
of her feet. By such signs | patiently
picked my way, until / saw ahead of
me an opening, across which could be
seen lodges of gray rock, with numer-
Gus cracks and assures. Here, perhaps,
l should see something of the fox, so
very cautiously l approached the edge
of the woodland and peered out to-
ward the rocks, now we'll lighted by the
rising sun. Sure enough, l caught a
! glimpse of fur, but without waiting to
see anything more l crept quickly be-
hind the boil of a large tree, whence
| could look out with less danger of
being seen. Not 100 yards away there
was a shelving rock, with large heap
of sand in front of it, and around the
base of this little mound, a number Of
young foxes were busily engaged in
devouring different parts of a Ply
mouth Rock fowl. Without a doubt
they had torn it apart before could
reach the scene, and 1 regretted that
had missed seeing the interesting
little battles which | was sure had
taken place before the prey was dis
membered. A moment later, however.
| was treated to a fight which quite
took the edge off my disappointment.
One youngster had just finished the
part of the hen he had been eating.
and after nosing about on the ground
as if to be sure he had not missed any
of It, he raised his head and licked his
little jaws, to which several feathers
were still adhering, Then he ran to-
ward one of his brethren who was busy
with what seemed to be the body of
the fowl, and there was trouble at
once.
"Yap-yap," went the cub in posses
sion Of the prize "Yap-yap yap-yap-
yap" and picking up the carcass in
his teeth, he danced about, staving off
his hungry brother with his hindouar-
ters. The intruder was not TO be so
easily disposed OF, however, and con-
tinued to follow the matter up until
the other one dropped his dinner and
pitched right in TO fight for it. And
how those two did ight!-sometim
rising up on their hind legs, and each
endeavoring to get on top, meanwhile
growing and swapping like a pair OF
bull terriers.
AS / was watching the cubs, now
caught sight of the vixen, who had
evidently been lying somewhere be-
hind the sandheap which marked the
mouth of her den. She arose to her
full height, with her nose pointed in
my direction and her ears cooked for.
ward. / was not aware that / had
made the slightest sound, but evident,
ly l had, and now / even held my
breath in the hope that she would &C
cept me as part Of the landscape and
lie down again. But suddenly, from
the wood behind me, came a loud, ex
plosive snort. followed by a startlinl
crash, and turned In time 20 see
deer dash away through the trees ant
bushes, its erect white tail rising ant
fallinG@as II Ieaped over logs and rock
which lay In ios path. When II hat
gone. 4 turned my head. but the foxei
har diaahDAarad