82 THE DRAMA OF THE FORESTS 



and difficult to hunt, yet of all forest creatures the coloured fox 

 is the hardest to trap. In hunting the two animals with dogs, 

 however, there is little comparison. The wolverine, being a 

 heavy, short-legged beast, can soon be overhauled in an open 

 country or on a beaten trail by a dog, or in deep snow even by 

 a man on snowshoes; while the chances of a fox being run down 

 by a dog are not so good. Some hunters, however, kill many 

 foxes by running them down with dogs, and for such work 

 they use a light-weight, long-legged dog possessed of both long 

 sight and keen scent. Hunters declare that no animal, not 

 even the wolf, has so much endurance as a good hunting-dog. 



When a hunting-dog sights a fox on a frozen lake he runs 

 straight for him. The fox, on realizing that he is being pur- 

 sued, leaps wildly into the air two or three times, and then 

 makes off at tremendous speed much faster than the dog can 

 run. But in about half a mile the fox, becoming played out, 

 stops to rest a moment and to look around to see if the dog is 

 still following. Then, on seeing the dog still in pursuit, he 

 sets off in another great burst of speed. Meanwhile, the dog 

 has gained on him, and the fox, discovering this, bolts off at 

 a different angle. The dog, however, observing what has 

 happened, takes advantage of his quarry, and cuts the corner 

 and thereby makes another gain. The fox, now more alarmed 

 than ever, makes another turn, and the dog cuts another corner 

 and makes another gain. Thus the race goes on until the fox 

 comes to the conclusion that the dog is sure to get him, loses 

 both heart and wind and finally lies down from sheer exhaus- 

 tion. The dog rushes at him, seizes him between the forelegs, 

 and with one crunch the hunt is over. 



It is much the same in the deep snow of the timberland. 

 There the fox will start off with great bounds that sink him deep 

 into the snow and make the scent only the stronger for the 

 dog. Meanwhile, the dog lopes steadily along, though far 

 out of sight. The fox stops to listen and learn if his enemy is 



