FOXES FOXHOUNDS & FOX-HUNTING 



Trapping is a lonely business, even when two 

 men share the work. Snow lies deep on the 

 ground, and under the intense cold of the northern 

 winter, the trees crack like pistol shots. The 

 trap line may cover a circle of from twenty to 

 sixty miles, and cabins have to be built at each 

 end of the route, with smaller shacks in between 

 to serve as all night shelters in time of storm. 



The trapper goes scuffling over the snow on 

 his webbed snowshoes, leaving behind him a 

 broad trail ; and where the trap line is a long one, 

 he often employs a dog-team to haul his outfit 

 and the furs he secures. Many prying eyes of 

 the wild things follow his movements, and on his 

 return journey he will often find the tracks of tne 

 gaunt, grey timber wolves, where they have 

 followed his trail out of curiosity. With the 

 coming of spring, the trapper packs his winter's 

 catch of furs, and turns his head in the direction 

 of the settlements. On his arrival in civiliza- 

 tion, he exchanges his catch for a goodly wad of 

 " greenbacks," of which every single note has 

 been hardly and honestly earned. 



Considering the hardness of the life, and the 

 infrequent chance of securing the coveted silver 

 fox, it is not surprising that the idea finally 

 originated of breeding these rare animals in 

 captivity. It eventually struck a man of the 

 name of Oulton, that " Two foxes in the pen 

 were worth ten in the woods," and so he set about 

 putting his theory in practice. 



The following notes, culled from a rough diary 

 which I kept in Canada, as well as from Bulletin 

 No. 301, of the United States Department of 

 Agriculture, will give the reader some idea of the 

 commercial value of the fox in America. 



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