Hunting Lore 283 



fox-hounds proved unable to cope ; as witness entries 

 like : &quot;found both a Bear and a Fox, but got neith 

 er&quot;; &quot;went a hunting . . . started a Deer & then 

 a Fox but got neither&quot;; and &quot;Went a hunting 

 and after trailing a fox a good while the Dogs 

 raized a Deer & ran out of the Neck with it & did 

 not some of them at least come home till the next 

 day.&quot; If it was a small animal, however, it was soon 

 accounted for. &quot;Went a Hunting . . . catched 

 a Rakoon but never found a fox.&quot; 



The woods were so dense and continuous that it 

 was often impossible for the riders to keep close to 

 the hounds throughout the run; though in one or 

 two of the best covers, as the journal records, Wash 

 ington &quot;directed paths to be cut for Fox Hunting.&quot; 

 This thickness of the timber made it difficult to keep 

 the hounds always under control ; and there are fre 

 quent allusions to their going off on their own ac 

 count, as &quot;Joined some dogs that were self hunt 

 ing.&quot; Sometimes the hounds got so far away that 

 it was impossible to tell whether they had killed or 

 not, the journal remarking &quot;catched nothing that 

 we knew of,&quot; or &quot;found a fox at the head of the 

 blind Pocoson which we suppose was killed in an 

 hour but could not find it.&quot; 



Another result of this density and continuity of 

 cover was the frequent recurrence of days of ill 

 success. There are many such entries as: &quot;Went 



