32 FOXHUNTING ON LAKELAND FELLS 



them. As a rule, however, Eeynard takes good 

 care to make his stand where he commands the 

 upper position, the terriers having to go up to 

 him face to face. When this happens, the dog 

 often gets badly marked, until another terrier can 

 get behind the fox and force him to change his 

 ground. When run to ground even in a big earth, 

 a hunted fox sometimes elects to bolt very quickly. 

 I remember on one occasion watching a fox enter 

 a very strong earth, and before hounds could get 

 to the spot, it bolted, went to ground again a few 

 yards further on, and finall}^ bolted and made 

 straight away, to afford a good hunt. 



A sure sign that a fox in a rocky earth is 

 shifting his position underground, and may show 

 himself, is when the terriers cease barking, and 

 hounds begin to rush about the " Borran." A fox 

 has an uncanny knack of escaping from hounds, 

 even if they are practically all round him. In 

 rough ground, particularly, he is an adept at making 

 his getaway. 



In long heather a fox will often lie very close 

 indeed, until hounds hunt right up to him. Then 

 when you see the members of the pack jumping 

 above the heather, as if expecting to view their 

 quarry, you can look out, for he is sure to be lying 

 hidden somewhere close to you. He will do the 

 same on the ledge of a crag if he thinks he can 

 escape notice, but, as a rule, he is not long in 



