On a Fox Trail 



after a recent fall of snow, and take a tramp 

 over the hills beyond the town. If the snow 

 is deep enough for snowshoes or ski, so 

 much the better ; you will have the pleasure 

 of foxtrailing and snowshoeing to boot. 

 I venture to say that you will not have 

 tramped far beyond that zone of civilization 

 represented by the outmost hen roosts be- 

 fore you will come upon the wiry trail of 

 a fox. Indeed, it will probably be the first 

 indication of wild life you encounter. The 

 fox is the most traveled of prowlers, and 

 will often cover from fifteen to twenty miles 

 in a night, searching for something to stay 

 his perpetually empty stomach. He does 

 most of his foraging at night not all of it, 

 as some writers assume, for I have fre- 

 quently seen him nosing about in the day- 

 time. But as a rule his long hunting trips 

 are taken under cover of darkness, and he 

 spends the day napping, with occasional 

 brief foraging excursions between naps. 



This slender, dainty, inconspicuous trail, 

 upon which we have chanced, was evidently 

 made last night, while the fox was out hunt- 

 ing for his breakfast. It leads us first 

 toward town again, and is soon boldly skirt- 

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