The Jasper weekly courier. [volume] (Jasper, Ind.) 1858-1922, 1914-10-23
ENGLAND'S SACRED BEAST.
unwritten Law Against Shooting Ever
Hen EATING Foxes.

4 ''e' foNCs.
Down in the country the other
day There was a village sensation in
which | was called upon to adjudi-
cate for the farmers assembled in
the parlor OF the only village inn."
writes the london core pondent of
Town and olatry. "One of their
number had slot fox which had
prowled I'll 'at among the fowls for
so many : &, thar fowl keeping
was bccom = risky business.
''The c. mary farmer does not
mind losir an occasional hen, but
reynard Is greedy beast and kills
for the mere pleasure OF the thing,
and the hunt does not always pay
up promptly. So here was fine
poiEt in sportfng etiquette to be
settled. - far,nrr had shot a fox.
He did 10 a. H. In fact, he pre-
ferrcd 70 .asso..w. his chest with
pridc, Il, il = ecfance of all the un-
written Ia o. Prtish sport.
"Now, caswn from time imme-
moral la. dccrecd that the fox
shall L. - safe from gun and trap
as i hc were sacred. He belongs to
the hounds and must be allowed to
roam through the covers and farm
yards at viii, devouring what NAV
happen in his way. Custom, too,
demands that the hunt shall paw
the damages. The hunt generally
pays, though in lnnumerable cases
the secretary is well aware that he
Is being swindIcl.
"But this particular farmer said
he had hunted for many years him
self and had never made claim for
lost hens. 4 year or two ago, how
ever, a fox had paid a nocturnal
visit to his fowl yard and-had played
havoc with the feathered denizens.
a night or two after it happened
again. A third time the fox came
Ground and made a most deplorable
mess of lot of fine Wyandottes
and some expensive Buff Orping-
tons.
"Then the farmer wrote to the
hunt secretary and asked for dam
ages. The reply was that the claim
would lie attended to shortly, and
at Christmas the settlement csme
in the form ola ham. Thereupon
the farmer declared war on all foxes
and killed them ruthlessly. And
this was the p int which puzzled the
farmers on Saturday night.
Jim Crawford shot q fox last
year. said one of the men, sand no
good has come to him since. It
amt lucky and it amt Sportsman
like. Let 'em kill your hens. That's
what they are there for, snd if one
hunt secretary is mean there are a
hundred who are generous
"There YOU have It. Sport is
sport and its rules are adamant. It
must, however, be put TO the credit
of British hunt clubs that they
spend millions of pounds a year in
Wlles and Ireland for the
upkeep of tie sport.
'"Think Of the hunters that are
bred and sold annually, the packs
of hounds, the huntsmcn, the stable
people, the dozens of hangers on
Who make a living out of it. With
out the hoGals certain districts Of
England woulG he cepopulated.
Leicestershire the midland
counties would be almost impoyer-
ished if a law we're sud lenly put in
force to make N end to the rich
mans pastime Country houses in
nonhunting districts may be had a..
most for the price of cottage in
Leicestershire, whereas in the
Quorn and Pytchley country a coun-
try house is as expensive, if not
more so, than a London mansion
Instead of diminishing, hunting has
grown in popular favor"