HUNTING IN THE SNOW 



file, until they reach the point where their quarry 

 has again descended to terra firma. Somet'Uies 

 a hound will race ahead if near a corner, and 

 perhaps strike the line ; when the procession on 

 the wall top dissolves, and away they go again 

 full cry. The most dangerous time is when a 

 frost comes after a slight thaw. Then, the snow- 

 filled ghylls and gullies are veritable death-traps, 

 with a hard, glassy surface, inclined at a steep 

 angle. A slip at such a place may precipitate 

 man or hound beyond recovery. More often, 

 however, the snow is soft and damp, or soft and 

 dry. In the latter case scent does not as a rule 

 lie so well as in the former. In soft, wet snow 

 there is often a capital scent, which, coupled with 

 the bad going, lessens reynard's chance of escape, 

 Seeing that as a rule the chances are six to four 

 on the fox, it is only fair that hounds should have 

 the advantage sometimes. When hunting in 

 the snow there is one consolation, i.e., if hounds 

 run clean away from you, it is always possible to 

 follow their footprints. As you toil along, the 

 tale of their doings gradually unfolds. Here 

 they have been bunched together, driving ahead 

 like mad. There they have spread for a moment 

 like a fan, only to rejoin, and continue the chase. 

 Amongst the larger imprints you can sometimes 

 distinguish the smaller tracks of the fox, par- 

 ticularly when hounds have run a bit wide of the 

 line, as often happens on a windy day. Should 

 hounds descend into a dale, your field glasses will 

 pick up the distant tracks, and instead of fol- 

 lowing them, you can slip round the head of the 

 valley, and pick them up again where hounds have 

 gone out. vSo you go on, cutting corners, and 

 dodging over towards all the likely vantage 

 points, until at last you find hounds marking their 



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