82 THE FOX 



hunting there. Masters of Hounds naturally dislike 

 cliffs, as hounds are very apt to fall over while in 

 pursuit of the fox, and the Masters and huntsmen of 

 the West Somerset, Holderness, and Eastbourne Fox- 

 hounds could tell us of many a good hound lost, and 

 of many a narrow escape the pack has had. 



But though Masters and huntsmen dread such 

 adventures, the cliff-haunting foxes are probably a 

 source of supply to the country round, and the cubs 

 reared spread over the district and settle down, in 

 their turn to raise inland a new generation of wild 

 foxes. 



The first generation is apt to go back to the cliffs, 

 but often give a good run in so doing. Slowly Wood, 

 a big covert well known to the followers of the 

 Quantock Staghounds, used at one time to be a great 

 place for foxes. Before the West Somerset Hunt 

 was fairly established by the late Colonel Luttrell, 

 of Kilve Court, the covert was drawn by harriers, 

 and the foxes went right away for Hurlstone Point, 

 some seven miles off, and were never caught. The 

 harrier Masters tried several dodges, such as putting 

 relays of hounds on likely points of the route. Nor 

 was a fox killed fairly from Slowly until Colonel 

 Luttrell's hounds ran into one, to their Master's great 

 delight. 



