;o Life in the Open 



underbrush. Directed by me the hounds soon took the 

 trail and followed the fox for half a mile along the edge 

 of the bluff ; now under scrub oaks, out by great clumps 

 of Heteromeles, whose berries were swelling in the sun, 

 then passing down a little side cafion it made for the 

 main branch, and went up and over the ridge, to be fol- 

 lowed by the baying of the hounds. 



The hunt was forced to go around, and after a long 

 ride through the chaparral came upon the pack. They 

 had run the fox up into the thick branches of a "holly," 

 where, not five feet out of reach, this diminutive Rey- 

 nard sat snarling and growling at them, to make a 

 brave jump and carry the hunt a hundred yards, where 

 on the edge of the cliff it was caught, carrying one of 

 the dogs over into the green abyss, rolling down, fol- 

 lowed by the baying, yelping pack and the hunters, 

 who, dismounting, slid down into the green to secure 

 the brush, which was presented to the lady of the hunt 

 whose plucky riding had commended itself. 



The game was hardly half as large as the ordinary 

 fox of the East, and known as the coast fox ; found all 

 along the Californian shores and on all the islands ; 

 ranging from Costa Rica to the north-west, varying in 

 appearance in seasons and in localities. The tail is about 

 the length of the body in the average animal. I have 

 seen a specimen in the mountains of Santa Catalina 

 where it was a splendid ornament. The tail has a black 

 stripe above, and the fur of the body is dark, even 

 almost black above and reddish below, with variations 



