CHAPTER TWENTY SANDHILLS 



the poultry-yard, close to the house. After some search, we 

 found some of the birds concealed in different places in the 

 adjoining fields, where the fox had buried them, not having 

 time to carry them all to his earth that night. He fell a vic- 

 tim to his greediness, however, being caught in a trap a few 

 nights afterwards. 



A fox, after he has lost one of his feet in a trap, is still 

 able to get his own living, and to keep himself in as good 

 plight as if he had his whole complement of legs effective. 

 One,whichhadleft a foot in a trap, and escaped on the other 

 three, livedfortwo years afterwards about the sameground. 

 We knew his track in thesand by the impressionofhis stump. 

 This winter, while shooting in the sandhills, we saw a fox 

 sneak quietly into a small thicket of trees. I immediately 

 placed the two sportsmen who were with me at different 

 pointsofthethicket,andthen took my retriever on thetrack. 

 The dog, who, from his former battles with fox and otter, 

 is very eager in his enmity against all animals of the kind, 

 almost immediately started the fox,and, after a short chace, 

 turnedhim outwithin shot of a very sure gun.The consequ- 

 ence was the instant death of Mr Reynard. On examining, 

 he turned out to be the very fox whose foot had been nail- 

 ed up two years before. He was an immense old dog-fox, 

 in perfect condition, although hehad only three legs to hunt 

 on. The fox is a constant attendant on the rabbit-trapper, 

 robbing him of most of the rabbits that are caught in his 

 traps or snares. He sometimes, however, pays dearly, by 

 getting caught in the wires; and although he generally 

 breaks the snare and escapes, does not do so without most 

 severe punishment. I shot a fox this season who had the re- 

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