46 The Hvmting Field With Horse and Hound 



"dem ar houns no foxhouns 'tall, dey jus' orrinary possum 

 dogs." 



It was an awful mistake. 



"I mean they are a nice looking lot of hounds, but of course 

 they are not equal to Col. Thorpe's hounds trailing fox." 



"Well, I should say," rephed Jim, the whites of his eyes 

 rolling at me in great disapproval, so deep and so strong that 

 every line of his face and figure looked it. 



Then Jim went on to tell how long "befo' de wah" this 

 Thorpe and Sacket family fell into a neighbourly quarrel that 

 almost amounted to a feud, and all on account of a fox hunt, 

 and the question of whose hounds were the best. It seems that 

 the fathers of the two present families, — as were their grand- 

 fathers — were noted fox hunters and hound breeders. Rivalry 

 therefore, in fox hunting, between the two famihes, was very 

 keen. It seems on one occasion that the grandfather of the 

 present Col. Sacket, and the grandsire of the present Col. 

 Thorpe joined hounds in a fox hunt that led to a family 

 quarrel. Each declared his hounds the better. 



"Well," said ^Ir. Sacket, "I would Hke to have your hounds 

 about an hour. I would dump the brutes in a sack with a 

 stone in it, and throw the lot of them into the river." 



"Well, if I had your hounds," said the other, "I wouldn't 



even take the trouble to drown them. I'd have their d 



throats cut, and throw them in the soap grease." 



Tliis was a slur on their being nice-looking hounds, and, 

 to Mr. Thorpe's notion, carrying too much meat. 



Finally, it came on to rain, and getting under the lee of a 

 straw stack for shelter, Thorpe said, "I'll pull straws with you 

 to see who has the pleasure of killing the other's hounds." 



And then each proceeded to pull a straw, the one getting 

 the longest one was to be the winner. Sacket won. 



"Now," said Thorpe, "I'll pull to see whether you take 

 my plantation, or I yours. I don't care to Hve beside j^ou 



