THE ESSEX 



Mr. H. N. Munn was elected Master of the Essex County Hunt and re- 

 mained in office during 1880 and 1881, when he was followed by Mr. C. 

 A. Heckscher, who held the country till 1 883. From 1 884 to 1 888, Mr. E. 

 P. Thebaud was the ruling spirit, and finally Mr. J. A. Stewart was elected 

 and remained in office till 1 890, when the hounds were taken over by the 

 present Master, Mr. Charles Pfizer. 



Mr. Stewart was the last M. F. H. to hold office under the original organ- 

 ization, for when the present Master took the hounds they became his per- 

 sonal property, and although Mr. Pfizer accepts a small subscription from 

 his Field, the Essex Hunt has been practically a private pack since 1 890. 

 Speaking of the Hunt since that period, Mr. Pfizer has kindly furnished the 

 information quoted, as follows : 



" When I took over the hounds, I dropped the word ' County ' from the 

 fixture card and called it the Essex Hunt, as I gave up the former territory 

 throughout Essex county and hunted in Morris and Somerset counties. 



" My present kennels are at Gladstone, N. J., and the county line between 

 Morris and Somerset counties runs through my place. During the first five 

 years of my Mastership I changed my base of operations several times, and 

 the pack has always had good active following ; but the present location 

 is a really satisfactory one, and I hope to continue to stay here for many 

 years. The country is not too far from New York and is an attractive point 

 for suburban residences. Our Fields average some twenty-five men on 

 regular days, with perhaps ten or fifteen more on holidays and gala occa- 

 sions. Sometimes there are a few ladies in the Field, but we have no regular 

 followers of the fair sex, as the country is too trying, and the distances to 

 the meets and back to the kennels, or to their respective homes, too far to 

 warrant an active participation in the sport." 



Mr. Pfizer's country is mostly hill and dale — some of it very rough to 



ride over. This is the main objection to fox-hunting ; and although when 



the snow has fallen, the hounds are sometimes taken out after foxes, it is not, 



as a rule, a successful experiment. As we all know, no drag pack can show 



good sport fox-hunting, and as Mr. Pfizer's hounds are primarily draghounds 



they are, of course, no exception to this rule. 



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