THE MANAGEMENT OF HOUNDS 



his own country, all holes (or earths) unstopped, 

 has a fair chance, if he gets away with a decent 

 start, and he is probably a chicken-stealing rogue, 

 which deserves extermination. Your rotten little 

 mangy bagman, however, has no such chance, 

 but runs aimlessly on until he is caught, or drops 

 from sheer exhaustion, or else seeks the nearest 

 fence corner, where he stops and faces his foes, 

 dying like the hopeless little desperado he is. 



There are wild foxes in certain localities, nota- 

 bly about Philadelphia, which have been hunted 

 time and again, and which really seem to enjoy 

 the outing, affording good runs sometimes for 

 years, and then dying peacefully of old age ; but 

 such cases are few, and as, sooner or later, all 

 American hunting must be after the drag, let that 

 be the legitimate object of pursuit, and for human- 

 ity's sake* leave out the bag-fox features. 



Tame deer have been used a little in this coun- 

 try for pursuit, and have afforded good sport, 

 their tendency to take to the roads, and to " soil " 

 obstinately in water when pressed, presenting the 

 chief drawbacks to their employment. Of course 

 they are never killed, and equally, of course, the 

 master and whips must be well up, or they may 

 be, but it takes a mighty fast pack to catch a deer 



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