FROM 1SS5 TO i8g6. 199 



days, killed seventy-one and a half brace of foxes, and ran 

 thirty-one and a half brace to ground. 



On Monday, December 4th, they had a capital day's 

 sport from Kirkby Overblow. The first draw was Walton 

 Head Whin, and here a crowd of foot-people had taken up 

 their stand on the down-wind side of the covert, which was, 

 of course, the likeliest place for a fox to break. So Smidi 

 took up a firm position, and refused to put his hounds into 

 the covert until they moved, and gave the fox a chance. 

 The foot-people moved, and hounds had not been five 

 minutes in covert before a fox broke at the very place where 

 they had been standing. Hounds could only pick out a line 

 at first, I)ut as soon as they got over the field where the 

 ground had been foiled by the foot-people they started to run 

 hard, and racing their fox over Spofforth Haggs, they left 

 Parkin's Wood on the right, and twined to the left over the 

 Haggs road, and crossed the Wetherby and Harrogate 

 railway at the tunnel end. Touching Rudding Park they ran 

 over Follifoot Bridge and through Bleaching Ground Whin, 

 leaving the Knaresborough and Leeds railway to the left 

 and crossing the Plompton road. Here a slight check took 

 place, the fox having threaded the garden hedges in the 

 neiohbourhood. But Smith cauoht sicrht of him, with arched 

 back and dracrgrjed brush, and racino- from scent to view, 

 they rolled him over in the open at Forest Moor after a 

 brilliant forty minutes. They drew Abbey's plantation blank, 

 but Smith had barely got hounds out of the covert when 

 a fox was seen to get out of a hedgerow. He was a twisting 

 customer, and took a very 'devious' line to Harrogate Stray. 

 Then they turned down to the railway, where they had a 

 very narrow escape, as a train was coming out of the station 

 best pace. Smith, however, managed to avert the disaster, 

 but of course some little time was lost. Hitting off the line, 

 they hunted back to where they had found, and then, bearing 



