HUNTING WITH HOUNDS. 163 



wood, which was practicable only at one spot, 

 where a kind of cattle trail led up to a panel. 

 It was within an inch or two of five feet 

 high. However, the horses, thoroughly trained 

 to timber jumping and to rough and hard 

 scrambling in awkward places, and by this 

 time well quieted, took the bars without mis- 

 take, each one in turn trotting or cantering up 

 to within a few yards, then making a couple of 

 springs and bucking over with a great twist 

 of the powerful haunches. I may explain 

 that there was not a horse of the four that 

 had not a record of five feet six inches in the 

 ring. We now got into a perfect tangle of 

 ravines, and the fox went to earth ; and 

 though we started one or two more in the 

 course of the afternoon, we did not get another 

 really first-class run. 



At Geneseo the conditions for the enjoy- 

 ment of this sport are exceptionally favorable. 

 In the Northeast generally, although there are 

 now a number of well-established hunts, at 

 least nine out of ten runs are after a drag. 

 Most of the hunts are in the neighborhood of 

 great cities, and are mainly kept up by young 

 men who come from them. A few of these 

 are men of leisure, who can afford to devote 

 their whole time to pleasure ; but much the 

 larger number are men in business, who work 

 hard and are obliged to make their sports ac- 

 commodate themselves to their more serious 

 occupations. Once or twice a week they can 

 get off for an afternoon's ride across country, 

 and they then wish to be absolutely certain of 



