CHAPTER XVIII 



PACKS 



PACKS ! What a misnomer to the ardent bea- 

 gler in the United States, who knows nothing 

 of the Enghsh system of running and sup- 

 porting a pack of beagles, of which there are some 

 thirty odd packs at present hunting in England, 

 most of which are supported by popular subscrip- 

 tion. Xo field trials for beagles are held in Eng- 

 land, but bench shows are held, and bi-weekly hunts 

 are held and the animal of the chase is the hare and 

 not the so-called American cony or cottontail rab- 

 bit. The first pack ever hunted in the United 

 States was imported by the grandfather of Mr. 

 Louis A. Thebaud, of Morristown, New Jersey, 

 about fift}^ years ago and was hunted in the vicinity 

 of Orange, New Jersey, as Mr. Thebaud has told 

 me. Were they beagles or bassets? Mr. The- 

 baud's recollection of hunting, as a boy, with his 

 grandfather, were vague as to the type of hound 

 used; but the fact is indelibly impressed on his 

 memory that he did hunt rabbits with his grand- 

 father, who had imported a pack of small hounds 



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