, 1908-01-15
BILLS FOX HUNT
As DESCRIBED BY 4 MAN WHO.
RODE WITH HIM
r., M0nAaan ~ N10wEt =
By NORMAN II. cRoWELL

- - stSbipt ~ =
the prune barrel into which the upper
third Of Boggs had disappeared. At
, lie query the prune chaser straight
ened up and busted the mold off his
vest front.
"Eh? Ride two hounds?" he repeat
ed in mild surprise. Il should hope
not, son; I'm no juggler."
81 heard you were quite a fox hunt
er once. Just thought I'd ask, you
know" said the clerk, as he put a
handful of desiccated cabbage leaf
into the free tobacco box.
Fox hunterl Well, l calk'late
same that l was! Why, son, 1 was
chasin' the animals years before you
was born,
Il suppose you've hunted foxes with
Bill Fikes?" asked Jim Hallett, as he
peered around the stove.
Hunted with Bill? Yes, once, | re-
member hat time very ~particular-it
finished poor Bill for fox huntin'.
you see, Bill had always swore he
was a regular ringmaster at hossback
ridin'. Even went so far as to let on
he'd been refusin' big offers once a
month for tn past ten years from
c%ircuses all over tn country just to
ride bosses. | never seen m straddle
a boss, though, till we went down to
Squire Eaton's fox hunt. Bill had to
go, seem be was some maple sugary
on tn squi.e's daughter, an tn
daughter had egged tn squire on to
invite Bill SOS she could see how he
looked in %highwater pants.
After we'd got down there tn.
squire pulled me off to one side an
says, in a whisper:
- hear Bills an old circus eques-
trian, an I'm dun glad of it. I've
got a regular devil of a boss for i'm
to ride, an an ordinary man couldn't
manage i'm
cts that SOP says L. Well, l guess
my pardner is TIL n to make that
boss feel is pats if anyone can. You'll
enjoy watchin' Bill ride that boss,
squire 1 says.
When the stable bridegroom led out
Bills noble steed my poor pardner
nearly fell down. So did |, after one
look at that nag. l see then that
Squire Eaton was a professional
joker with capital letters a foot high.
That animal was so high up from
tn earth 1t was jest like lookin' up at
tn Masonic temple. Away up on tn
roof of i'm he had a backbone that
looked like tn map of tn Rocky noun.
tains done up in bone. Bill run is
hand lovin'ly over tn critters spine
an said he'd seen worse, but couldn't
~recollect jest where.
"Th' first thing Bills boss done vas
to jump tn pump an then hurdle a
row O. beehives. In dom this a half.
dozen beetle-browed honey-producers
anchored to Bill an tn boss an done
a lively business. Bill took tn lead
Jest like I'd said he would-an' he
held it. He showed us some ridin'
that you don't often see even in cir.
Gus rings, too. 1 never see a Teller
ride SO far away from is nag an still
stay with i'm. Most O tn time Bill
'peared to be sailin' along in tn sun
shine jest like a butterfly, touchin'
X AoSo oS1doloHdiy W give ILL d
pointer where he wanted to go.
Some O. tn boys who got up near
Bill said tn remarks he was castin' off
was ekal to any 'Spartacus to the
Gladiators' they'd ever listened to.
About every third time Billd come
down he'd meet tn boss goin' up on
tn next jump, an tn sound was sim.
liar to a man poundin' a hollow stump
with a sledge hammer.
"In about 20 minutes Bills boss had
overlook tn dogs an waded through
tn bunch, putin two of them on tn
hospital list with onjointed backs. In
a minute or so more he'd caught up
with tn fox, an, after runnin' i'm
neck an neck for half a mile, passed
i'm easy. TIL fox was SO disguised
he tried to bite Bill in tn leg as he
went by, but Bill was too high up to
be reached,
9TH squire bowed a few toots on
is foghorn to advise Bill to come back
an be sociable, but we see that boss
just tuck in his tail good an careful
an stretch out like a homesick jack
rabbit. BIZ was hangin' on like q
porous plaster to a tramp's back.
9TH last we saw O. my pardner he
was just toppin' a rise in tn far dis
lance with tn hose skippin' along like
a scairt catamount bout five feet be-
low. TIL squire was sort o. melan.
choly for awhile, thinkin' he was a
boss out, but l told i'm to bear up
brave an begin preparin' to get boot,
ed clear across Catawba county II
poor Bill never showed up again.
But next day Bill sent word from
a town 20 miles OF that he was alive
an hungry, but that tn boss was In
difficulty through breakin' an enterin'
a hotel office an attemptin' to regis.
ter. | forget what it cost tn squire
to settle for tn bric-a-brac that ami.
NAL had maltreated, but 1t was moth.
in small. Bill walked like = pair o.
carpenter calipers for six weeks an
threatened to sue tn squire for per.
manent injuries to is beauty.
THAT was tn last fox hunt / aver
see Bill Fixes engage in-the identical
last one. He sort O. lost is hankerin'
for it, / guess '
The narrator paused, yawned deeply
and drummed lightly with his fingers
on the cover of the prune barrel.
Then, as a sudden thought struck
ltEA-l IA - -tal -