190 Hunting the Grisly 



noses. The American hounds were very ob- 

 stinate and self-willed. Each wished to work 

 out the trail for himself. But once found, 

 they would puzzle it out, no matter how cold, 

 and would follow it if necessary for a day and 

 night. By a judicious crossing of the two Mr. 

 Wadsworth finally got his present fine pack, 

 which for its own particular work on its own 

 ground would be hard to beat. The country 

 ridden over is well wooded, and there are 

 many foxes. The abundance of cover, how- 

 ever, naturally decreases the number of kills. 

 It is a very fertile land, and there are few 

 farming regions more beautiful, for it is pre- 

 vented from being too tame in aspect by the 

 number of bold hills and deep ravines. Most 

 of the fences are high posts-and-rails or 

 "snake" fences, although there is an occa- 

 sional stone wall, haha, or water-jump. The 

 steepness of the ravines and the density of 

 the timber make it necessary for a horse to 

 be sure-footed and able to scramble anywhere, 

 and the fences are so high that none but very 

 good jumpers can possibly follow the pack. 

 Most of the horses used are bred by the farm- 

 ers in the neighborhood, or are from Canada, 

 and they usually have thoroughbred or trot- 

 ting-stock blood in them. 



