History and Origin, 141 



gan to look around for a faster strain of hounds 

 to cross upon their native hounds. They tried 

 hounds from South CaroHna, Virginia, and 

 Maryland without success, and about 1856 they 

 imported Rifler and Queen from the kennels of 

 the Duke of Buccleuch. The Walkers admit that 

 the cross of these English hounds was a distinct 

 improvement, especially in size, conformation, and 

 feet. General Maupin obtained a hound (named 

 Lead), pedigree and breeding unknown, from 

 the section of country where Kentucky, Tennes- 

 see, and Virginia meet. He was a great all-round 

 foxhound and was most successfully crossed on 

 all the Maupin-Walker bitches, and to this day 

 the best hounds of the Walker strain trace di- 

 rectly back to Maupin's Lead. They bought a 

 number of other hounds from the same section, 

 said to be close relatives of Lead, but they all 

 proved worthless, and were never used in the 

 stud. 



About this time, Mr. B. F. Robinson, of Mt. 

 Sterling, Kentucky, the originator of the Rob- 

 inson strain, a most enthusiastic hunter and ac- 

 complished horseman, brought a number of Irish 

 hounds from Maryland and crossed them suc- 

 cessfully upon his native pack. The most noted 

 of these hounds were Whitey and Furey, who 

 figure very extensively in the present stud books 

 of the National Fox-hunters' Association. 

 Messrs. Walker and Maupin also tried the ex- 



