WILD-CAT HINTING. 157 



ing, professedly for a fox-chase, and it turns out " cat," 

 and often both cat and fox are killed, after a short but 

 hard morning's work. 



The chase is varied, and is frequently full of amus- 

 ing incident, for the cat, as might be expected, will take 

 to the trees, to avoid pursuit, and this habit of the ani- 

 mal allows the sportsman to meet it on quite familiar 

 terms. If the tree be a tall one, the excitable creature 

 manages to have its face obscured by the distance ; but 

 if it takes to a dead, limbless trunk, where the height 

 will permit its head to be fairly seen, as it looks down 

 upon the pack that, with such open mouths, 



"Fetch shrill echoes from the hollow earth," 



you will see a rare exhibition of rage and fury ; eyes 

 that seem like living balls of fire, poisonous claws, which 

 clutch the insensible wood with deep indentations ; the 

 foam trembles on its jaws ; the hair stands up like por- 

 cupine quills ; the ears press down to the head, forming 

 as perfect a picture of vicious, ungovernable destructive- 

 ness as can be imagined. A charge of mustard-seed 

 shot, or a poke with a stick when at bay, will cause it to 

 desert its airy abode ; and it no sooner touches the 

 ground, than it breaks ofi" at a killing pace, the pack 

 like mad fiends on its trail. 



Besides " treeing," the cat will take advantage of 

 some hole in the ground, and di-sappear, when it meets 



