The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1906-05-27
THE FOX HUNTER
IN OLD | VIRGINIA ''.||.R Il 4
This Sport One Of the Oldest and
Most Popular il, the Old
Dominion.
AMERICAN HOUND THE BEST
Far Better Suited to the Way Of
Hunting iii This Country.
Early Virginians.
BY J. Marshall Henry.

ny J. Marshall f1enry.
at length one wlndcth where the wave
hath left
The unguarded portals Of the gorge,
ana there
Tar-wandering halts; and from the rocky
cleft
Spreads his keen nostril to the whis-
pering air.,
Then with trhild ears, moves covering
DER the ground.
The deep bay booming brcaks-the scent
Is found"
Lytton.
II Beckfords assertion, that good FOX
hunter is ms hard to find as prime
minister, applies to the English hunting
field, where the country admits OF rid
7 ing down the fox, the man who IL prof.
Client In tho science OF fox-hunting In thc
wildernesses OF America Is rare Jewel
from the English standpoint.
indeed, IT has been considered we'll
nigh impossible task to accomplish the
death Of the fox where the horse can
not participate III the chase--so much so
that in parts OF the Kingdom, where It
Is impossible to ride straight to hounds.
icx-hunting has been practically aban-
doncd.
The English fox-hound Ia incapable Of
accounting for game without the assist.
ance OF the English huntsmnn; therefore,
to quote Whyte Melville, mo man can
make mistake In all the current nom
sense OF the day'aS to the type OF hound
that Is qualified by nature to account for
tho American fox" TO this we may add
that no sensible man, who has ever ex-
perienced the pleasure of hunting the
American fox-hound will attempt to sub
stitutc the English in his stead
Wherein the Difference.
Be sure the one who advocates such
a retrosrade In the sport has more en-
thusasm than brains for II Is conceded
by the best English spor,smen themselves
that the English fox-honnd has no place
in the American hunting field.
Whatever attempt has been made to in
troduce English hunt methods and Eng
llsh hounds in America has Been at
tended with great disadvantage 10 all
concerned except the fox. and but for the
opportunity TO Initiate English customs
and English appointments. the practice
would soon fall into the discard.
Unfortunately for tho anglomanne, fox
hunting is not one of those past!mes in
which the pursuit of the game alone gives
Joy to life. However overlooking the cup
may be filed In an attempt 10 catch the
fox. 1t is the accomplishment OF his
death. the victorious chase, which sweet
eng its contents In no section OF Ameri-
ca Is 1t possible 10 attain success In the
hunting field with English fox-hounds,
except upon an island, or where land has
been SO well cleared OF underground that
the riders can assist in running the game
,5down. ~ Il 49, s..
In order4to adopt the English sport in
america, 1t is quite necessary that the
physical conditions be similar to the
Bhires Of England, or tame foxes he sub
stituted for wild game. The latter. while
unsportsmnnllIe. is often resorted to that
the luntsman can boast OF mask at the
end of the season. The English take
pride In claiming long descent for their
hounds, a claim to which they are Justly
entitled. for the kennel books are re-
ligiously kept, and are handed down from
huntsman to huntsmnn. as estates de-
scend from father to son; but It should
Interest American sportsnen to know
that fox-hunting had become popular
sport IN Virginia more than q quarter OF
O. century before the oldest kennel record
in England can boast OF q fox -hound.
Lord Wilton in his Sports and Pur-
suits OF the English says that 1t was
not until 5175O that hounds were entered
to the fox: while Thomas Dale fixes the
date as late as 1852. when fox hunting
invaded the shires That good old squire,
William Draper. OF Berwick Hall, whose
toast ito oil the brushes In Christen-
dom" was drunk in October ale, II 1t
be true. commenced hunting On 1925,
according to the Druid" but that he
hunted foxes regularly ut this date g
doubted by the best English authorities,
as what is found in Scott and Sebright"
IS In part tradition. The famous Quorn,
Pytchley Belvor and Badnl!nton hounds
can only prove q descent from the yeav
given by Lord Wilton. while two couples
is all that the Beaufort esta blishment
can boast of at this period. However,
there Is q fox-horn in Leicester, which
bears the following inscription: Thomas
Boothby, ESD, Tooly Park With this
horn he hunted the first pack Of fox
hounds, then in England. nfty-nve years.
Born, 1871; died, 1852"
Early Virginians AS Hunters.
Accepting this evidence. we have only
70 turn to Hugh Jones's present State
OF Virginia" to find that fox hunting had
been established In the colonies ut the
beginning OF the eighteenth century; and
that the individual fox hunter had pur-
sued the game with hounds previous to
the founding Of William and Mary Col.
leee, is quite as authentic as any infor-
nation which Ge1vase Markham imparts
about individual fox hunters In tho
Bhres Of England. Foxes were very