The true northerner. [volume] (Paw Paw, Mich.) 1855-1920, 1908-04-17
BILLS FOX HUNT
as DESCRIBED BY A Man WHO
RODE WITH Ella
By NORMAN ". CRoWELL


in an attempt to draw attention from
the grune barrel into which the upper
third of Boggs had disappeared At
the query the prune chaser straight
ened up and busted the mold off his
vest ront.
Eli? Ride two hounds?" he repeat
ed in mild surprise. Il should hope
not, son; I'm no iuggler"
Il heard. you were quite fox hunt
er once. Just thought I'd ask, you
kaOw," said the clerk, as he put a
handful of desiccated cabbage leaf
into the free tobacco box.
Fox hunter! Well, | calklate
same that | was! Why, son, | was
chasin the animals years before you
was born
II suppose you've hunted foxes with
Bill Fikes?' asked Jim Hallett, as he
peered around the stove.
Hunted with Bill? Yes, once, / re-
member that time very particular-it
finished poor Bill for fox huntin
You see, Bill had always swore he
was regular ringmaster at hossback
ridin'. Even went SO far as to let on
he'd been refusin' big offers once
month for tn past ten years from
circuses 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 he was some maple sugary
on tn squfre'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 whisper:
81 hear Bills an old circus eques-
trian, an I'm dunn glad of it. I've
got regular devil of a boss for i'm
to ride, an an ordinary man couldn't
manage i'm
is that SOP says |. We'll, / guess
my pardneY is tn one to make that
boss feel is oats if anyone can You'll
enjoy watchin' Bill ride that boss,
squire l says.
When the stable bridegroom led out
Bills noble steed my poor pardner
nearly fell down. SO did |, after one
hook at that nag. / see then that
squire Eaton was professional
joker with capital letters a foot high.
THAT animal was so high up from
tn earth it 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 lovinly over tn critters spine
an said he'd seen worse, but couldn't
recollect jest where
9TH first thing Bills boss done was
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 Is. He showed us some ridin'
that you don't often see even in cir
Gus rings, too. | 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 sailn' along in tn sun
shine jest like butterfly, touchin'
is boss occasionally to give i'm a
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
liar to a man poundin' 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 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 blowed 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 homesick jack
rabbit. Bill was hangin' on like a
JULIUS BlhotCi W a DdCh.
9TH last we saw o my pardner he
was just toppin' 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 | told i'm to bear up
brave an begin preparin' to get boot
ed clear across Catawba county if
poor Bill never showed up again.
But next day Bill sent word from
a town 20 miles off 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 it was moth
in small Bill walked like a pair o.
carpenter calipers for six weeks an
threatened to sue tn squire for per-