226 



HISTORY OF THE YORK AND AINS7Y HUN7. 



'Tuesday, December iith. .Street Houses. Bitches. Scent 

 good as a rule till the end of the last run. Found at 

 Pickering Wood, a fox with a slight touch of mange. 

 Ran through Steeton on to Oxton ; leaving that on the 

 left and Catterton Spring on the right, came to a check ; 

 got on the fox again, and went back to Oxton, and turning 

 to the right, ran over to the river Wharfe ; hunted up the 

 river bank in the Tadcaster direction, and the fox crossing 

 over, hounds were stopped. About forty minutes. Got 

 on the line of another fox at once. Hunted past Oxton, 

 leaving it on the left, up to the Steeton drain, and turning 

 to the left, crossed the York and Tadcaster road at Bow 

 Bridge, and on to the left of Catterton .Spring, but did not 

 go on with the line into the covert. Found at Pallethorpe, 

 ran through Steeton and up to Oxton, and crossed the 

 York road at the end of Tadcaster ; turned to the right, 

 leaving Catterton Spring just on the right, over the 

 Catterton drain ; leaving the whin covert on the left, ran 

 on to Duce Wood ; came to a short check ; hounds got 

 away, and ran to the left over Healaugh and Wighill 

 village road and on to Nova Scotia ; checked again ; took 

 a line on the Bilton side ; after going three fields beyond 

 Bilton and Healaugh lane, came to a check ; hit the line 

 off back to the left and pointed for Wetherby and York 

 road ; hunted slowly past Wilstrop Whin (White Sike 

 Whin) ; leaving that on our right, ran on into Wilstrop 

 Wood ; hounds had a good cry in covert and got away on 

 west side close to their fox, who made a turn back up a 

 ■ hedgerow out of which they pushed him, and getting a 

 view, rolled him over in the middle of a ploughed field. 

 One hour and fifty-five minutes. Seven-and-three-quarter- 

 mile point, about eleven miles as hounds ran. The bitches 

 hunted closely and well, and with great patience under 

 difficulties of bad scent and a fox sinking the wind when 

 dead beat.' 



There was a continuance of good sport throughout 

 December, but on the 22nd there was such a strong wind 

 that, though hounds went on to the fixture, they were 

 unable to hunt. During the next week they had a good 

 day or two, and with the end of the year the frost came, — 



