Red Fox 



be within hearing; he was safe enough at all events; the hole 

 beside which he was sitting was ringed in by corded beech 

 roots with an entrance much too narrow to admit a fox. 



In summer time foxes like best to hunt the woodchucks 

 that are just learning to go about alone. 



1 have never seen an actual encounter between a fox and 

 a full-grown woodchuck; the fight must frequently prove a 

 sharp one, for the woodchuck, though clumsy as compared with 

 a fox, is a stubborn fighter, and knows how to use his chisel- 

 like teeth to good purpose. 



In the autumn, when the hounds are out and the uplands 

 sing with their baying, it is only natural to think of the fox 

 with pity, and for the time being, at least, to forgive him a 

 portion of his sins. 



If he is being hunted in the English manner, with horses 

 and hounds, your pity is certainly not misplaced. To be run 

 down and overtaken and torn to pieces by overpowering numbers, 

 when at last his strength fails him and all his wiles 'lave proved 

 in vain, is a cruel end for any animal to meet. Fox hunting 

 as it is practiced in most of our northern states, however, though 

 it may not be quite so good form, is yet perfectly sportsmanlike, 

 and a great deal pleasanter for the fox. 



To say that the foxes frequently get their share of the fun 

 while being hunted sounds absurd enough, but is nevertheless 

 true. Only two or three hounds are used, and the hunter, in- 

 stead of following, endeavours to head off the fox and shoot 

 him. About the only cruelty in this sort of hunting is when 

 an occasional fox is wounded and escapes, and must heal his 

 shot wounds and get along as best he may for the next few 

 weeks. 



When the fox first hears the hounds baying in the distance 

 he listens anxiously, and can soon tell by the course they are 

 following whether they are on his trail or that of another fox; 

 in the latter case he simply goes to sleep again, or watches 

 the course of the hunt at a safe distance. But if he finds that 

 the hounds are on his track, he stretches himself and starts off 

 leisurely, planning all sorts of stratagems to throw off the scent. 



It does not worry him in the least to have the dogs close 

 on his heels; he knows that they are afraid to touch him, and 

 that he can easily leave them miles behind whenever he cares to. 



a68 



