FOXES FOXHOUNDS & FOX-HUNTING 



fox would have failed to brazen it out so well. 

 He would have made the fatal mistake of moving 

 too soon. Many a hare saves her life by squat- 

 ting and remaining in that position until hounds 

 have left the vicinity. A fox may on occasion 

 do this if hounds do not come very near him, but 

 he is apt to get on his legs and attempt to slink 

 off unseen before his enemies have got out of 

 sight. Some sharp-eyed whipper-in happens 

 to view him, and before he quite knows what has 

 taken place hounds are screaming on his line. 



A hunted stag behaves after the manner of a 

 hare, and will submerge himself in a stream, 

 keeping absolutely motionless while practically 

 surrounded by hounds. The latter have been 

 known to jump right over a stag, without either 

 recognising him or winding him. Roads and 

 certain stretches of bad-scenting country often 

 aid a hunted fox to escape, and so do cattle and 

 sheep. Once therefore a fox finds he can elude 

 his pursuers on such ground, or by running 

 amongst livestock in the fields, he will repeat the 

 performance at some later date. 



The instinct of a hunted cub leads him to 

 return to his home covert after the uproar behind 

 him has subsided. As a rule, too, he is not long 

 in making the return journey. I had an example 

 of this a short time ago. A certain staghound 

 pack came to a fox covert to draw for an out- 

 lying deer. Hounds were thrown into the wood — 

 a larch plantation on the top of a hill — and very 

 soon a halloa from the far side gave warning that 

 the stag was away. Before hounds had been 

 more than a few minutes in covert, five fox cubs 

 made their appearance in the open. Four of 

 them I saw myself, and the fifth was viewed by 

 someone else. Being on foot, I remained on the 



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