Toy Beagles 159 



With two exceptions all these hounds were under 

 two years and this was their first season's hunting. 

 These rabbits were found and killed in heavy tim- 

 bered land, where a hurricane in September, 1895, 

 had blown over and broken off nearly one third of 

 the largest trees, at that time in full foliage and 

 still retaining their dead leaves. This w^ould appear 

 to form a cover and protection that would make it 

 impossible that rabbits should be killed by beagles, 

 and yet wx did kill ten consecutively, with never 

 one lost, and without so much as a stone being 

 throw^n to help the hounds. 



"January hares are very strong runners and very 

 smart, and they tried every trick and wile known to 

 the species, but it was no use, the unerring nose of 

 these little Maryland beagles, coupled with their 

 pluck and staying qualities, would invariably wear 

 out 'Br'er Rabbit' and he would be compelled to 

 surrender. There is a possible chance one fellow 

 would have saved his bacon had I not seen him. He 

 ran aromid the outer edges of this wood some dis- 

 tance, then at a right angle through a rail fence 

 several hundi-ed yards in the fallen timber and hid. 

 When the pack had all passed beyond him, he 

 tipped back to the fence and jumped upon a broad 

 rail and laid flat. In a few minutes the hounds 

 came back and looked everywhere for him, but as 



