THE ANGLER AND HUNTSMAN 143 



foxhounds, consisting of from twenty-five to forty pairs, is 

 maintained either by the neighborhood or else by rich indi- 

 viduals. In this country, as a usual thing, each hunter owns 

 his own pack of hounds. 



Before the Civil War, we are told, fox hunting in the 

 South was much more popular than now, but this is not 

 meant to convey the idea that the royal chase is not still 

 much in vogue, for there are many more hunters now than 

 then, due to the increase in population, as well as to the 

 world war, which has learned men to live the simple outdoor 

 life and returned them to America, from which they sailed 

 to whip the Hun, full-fledged, unadulterated Sportsmen. 

 When we speak of the popularity of the chase prior to the 

 Civil War, therefore, we speak merely in terms of com- 

 parison. 



Prior to the Civil War, the hounds in use were the old 

 black and tan descendants of the ancient Talbot hounds, 

 whose pedigreed record may be traced back into the ages for 

 more than two thousand years. These hounds had the fa- 

 cility to trace a cold trail with perfect ease, and, possessing 

 enormous muzzles, they bellowed forth a voluminous cry 

 when in pursuit of their quarry. Again, they had very re- 

 markable endurance and staying qualities, two requisites 

 that must be present in the make-up of the ideal foxhound. 

 These dogs, we are told, were accustomed to chases of great 

 length after the fleet gray fox, a fox found commonly 

 throughout the South. In Maryland the English foxhound 

 was crossed with the Irish stag hound, producing hounds of 

 greater speed and more excellent quality than those used up 

 to that time. This cross was made because of the difficult 

 conditions in that State, a dog being desired that would 

 make a catch in quicker time and not require 6 or 8 hours as 

 did the Talbot descendants. Thus the first step in the im- 

 provement of the American foxhound took place, and sub- 

 sequent crosses and improvements lias produced the great- 

 est foxhound the world has ever known. 



