THE MEADOW BROOK 



Meadow Brook, for Mr. Ellis had given the Field a taste of fox-hunting and 

 they wanted more. Mr. Keene is a staunch believer in the English system 

 of hunting and in the English foxhound, and he decided to give it to them 

 along those lines. Accordingly he purchased, in 1 902, Mr. Salkeld's entire 

 pack, which was offered for sale in England. Mr. Salkeld's foxhounds had 

 been hunted about the rough, hilly country of Cumberland, where the coverts 

 are large and the scenting conditions poor, and Mr. Keene thought that they 

 would be admirably suited to conditions on Long Island. In order that no 

 stone should be left unturned to make this experiment successful, he engaged 

 Robert Cotesworth to come to America and act as huntsman to the Meadow 

 Brook. 



Cotesworth had had a long experience with the best packs in England, 

 having served as a whipper-in at Atherstone, Brocklesby and Belvoir, and 

 as huntsman to Earl Bathurst's Vale of White Horse foxhounds. With 

 Cotesworth came his son Tom, who acted in the capacity of first whipper- 

 in, while Hannon, who had been a long time at Meadow Brook, served as 

 second whipper-in. Thirty-two couples comprised the Salkeld pack and 

 with these Mr. Keene hunted foxes three days a week, the draghounds go- 

 ing out on the other three days as before. The experiment was not wholly 

 successful, the scenting conditions on the sandy Long Island soil being far 

 from good ; and, although the Fields were large, Mr. Keene was discour- 

 aged and in 1 904 gave up the Mastership and sold the entire hunting es- 

 tablishment at auction. The hounds, which had been very successful " on the 

 flags," having won at the Westminster Kennel Club Show at the Garden in 

 1 905, were bought in by the Club, and the Mastership passed to Mr. P. 

 F. Collier, who had for a long time maintained a pack of his own in Mon- 

 mouth County, New Jersey. The Cotesworths both left and went to the 

 Middlesex, and Mr. Collier found himself without a huntsman for his pack. 

 He made arrangements with Mr. John Foster of England to hunt the Eng- 

 lish hounds for him three days a week, and they were so hunted during the 

 season of 1905-6. Mr. Collier also made arrangements with Mr. H. I. 

 Varner of Arkansas to bring his pack of American hounds to the Meadow 

 Brook country and hunt them on alternate days with the English hounds. 



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