A HOUND HAVER ii 



3 



whole essence of hunting is to get hounds to find 

 a Hne, carry it, and never leave it." 



Said Bill : '' I once saw a curious instance of this 

 intentness with the Duke's. Hounds had brought 

 their fox very blown into a small whin cover where 

 they were pressing him hard and he was crawling 

 along the top of a low bank alongside a patch ot 

 thin whins, when a big powerful hound coming to 

 the cry met him and grabbed him and proceeded 

 to shake and worry him. While this operation was 

 going on the whole pack swept past, paying no 

 attention to it, but racing along on the line which 

 the fox had travelled about three minutes previously. 



Pause for a few minutes. Then a question — 



" What is the principal cause of the hounds 

 missing a fox after having run him hard and 

 being close at him ? " 



*^ Well, I suppose it's more often a failing scent 

 or owing to the fox lying down and keeping per- 

 fectly still ; so long as he doesn't move he is quite 

 safe, unless a hound happens to blunder against 

 him and shift him. But a very frequent cause with 

 us is the changing to a fresh fox. This would not 

 happen so often if onlookers or others would keep 

 quiet, but so often a run fox is seen to enter a 

 cover and a fox is seen to leave it. This last is 

 at once taken for the hunted one and holloaed away 

 by some one who ought to know better. My expe- 

 rience is that the sore-pressed and hunted fox gets 

 to a stage when he does not show himself; his 

 only hope of escape is to hide, which he can do, 

 and does do, in the most unexpected place, and 

 in the most complete manner. It's the fresh fox 



