POX HUNTING IN AMERICA. 251 



ball could kill it. In the spring we induced one of our ser- 

 vants to dig for the young foxes that had been seen at the 

 burrow, which was known to be frequented by the Cross Fox. 

 With an immense deal of labor and fatigue the young were 

 dug out from the side of a hill ; there were seven. Unfor- 

 tunately we were obliged to leave home, and did not return 

 until after they had been given away, and were distributed 

 about the neighborhood. 



Three were said to have been black, the rest were red. 

 The blackest of the young whelps was retained for us ; and 

 we frequently saw at the house of a neighbor another of the 

 litter that was red, and differed in no respect from the com- 

 mon Red Fox. The older our little pet became, the less it 

 grew like the Black, and the more like the Cross Fox. It was, 

 very much to our regret, killed by a dog when about six 

 months old, and as far as we can recollect, was nearly of the 

 color. 



The following autumn we determined to try our hand at 

 procuring the enchanted fox, which was the parent of these 

 young varieties, as it could always be started in the same 

 vicinity. "We obtained a pair of fine fox hounds, and gave 

 chase. The dogs were young, and proved no match for the 

 fox, which generally took a straight direction through cleared 

 fields for five or six miles, after which it began winding and 

 twisting among the hills, where the hounds on two occasions 

 lost the scent, and returned home. 



On a third hunt, we took our stand near the corner of an 

 old field, at a spot we had twice observed it to pass. It came 

 at last, swinging its brush from side to side, and running 

 with great rapidity, three quarters of a mile ahead of the 

 dogs, which were yet out of hearing. A good aim removed 

 the mysterious charm. We killed it with squirrel shot without 

 the aid of a silver bullet. It was nearly jet-black, with the 

 tip of the tail white. This fox was the female which had 

 produced the young of the previous spring, that we have just 



