THE SNOW-WALKERS 



more rocky and precipitous country, and a less rigor- 

 ous climate; the cross fox is occasionally seen, and 

 there are traditions of the silver gray among the 

 oldest hunters. But the red fox is the sportsman's 

 prize, and the only fur-bearer worthy of note in 

 these mountains. 1 I go out in the morning, after 

 a fresh fall of snow, and see at all points where he 

 has crossed the road. Here he has leisurely passed 

 within rifle-range of the house, evidently reconnoi- 

 tring the premises with an eye to the hen-roost. 

 That clear, sharp track, there is no mistaking 

 it for the clumsy footprint of a little dog. All his 

 wildness and agility are photographed in it. Here 

 he has taken fright, or suddenly recollected an en- 

 gagement, and in long, graceful leaps, barely touch- 

 ing the fence, has gone careering up the hill as fleet 

 as the wind. 



The wild, buoyant creature, how beautiful he is ! 

 I had often seen his dead carcass, and at a distance 

 had witnessed the hounds drive him across the upper 

 fields ; but the thrill and excitement of meeting him 

 in his wild freedom in the woods were unknown to 

 me till, one cold winter day, drawn thither by the 

 baying of a hound, I stood near the summit of the 

 mountain, waiting a renewal of the sound, that I 

 might determine the course of the dog and choose 

 my position, stimulated by the ambition of all 

 young Nimrods to bag some notable game. Long 



1 A spur of the Catskills. 

 7 



