56 SQUIRRELS AND OTHER FUR-BEARERS 



one that is music to many ears. The long trum- 

 pet-like bay, heard for a mile or more, now 

 faintly back to the deep recesses of the moun- 

 tain, now distinct, but still faint, as the hound 

 comes over some prominent point and the wind 

 favors, anon entirely lost in the gully, then 

 breaking out again much nearer, and growing- 

 more and more pronounced as the dog ap- 

 proaches, till, when he comes around the brow 

 of the mountain, directly above you, the barking 

 is loud and sharp. On he goes along the north- 

 ern spur, his voice rising and sinking as the wind 

 and the lay of the ground modify it, till lost to 

 hearing. 



The fox usually keeps half a mile ahead, regu- 

 lating his speed by that of the hound, occasion- 

 ally pausing a moment to divert himself with a 

 mouse, or to contemplate the landscape, or to 

 listen for his pursuer. If the hound press him 

 too closely, he leads off from mountain to moun- 

 tain, and so generally escapes the hunter ; but if 

 the pursuit be slow, he plays about some ridge 

 or peak, and falls a prey, though not an easy 

 one, to the experienced sportsman. 



A most spirited and exciting chase occurs when 

 the farm-dog gets close upon one in the open 

 field, as sometimes happens in the early morning. 

 The fox relies so confidently upon his superior 



