56 SQUIRRELS AND OTHER PUR-BEARERS 



one that is music to many ears. The long trum- 

 pet-like bay, heard for a mile or more, — now 

 faintly back to the deep recesses of the moun- 

 tain, — now distinct, but still faint, as the hound 

 comes over some prominent point and the wind 

 favors, — anon entirely lost in the gully, — then 

 breaking out again much nearer, and growing 

 more and more pronounced as the dog ap- 

 proaches, till, when he comes around the brow 

 of the mountain, directly above you, the barking 

 is loud and sharp. On he goes along the north- 

 ern spur, his voice rising and sinking as the wind 

 and the lay of the ground modify it, till lost to 

 hearing. 



The fox usually keeps half a mile ahead, regu- 

 lating his speed by that of the hound, occasion- 

 ally pausing a moment to divert himself with a 

 mouse, or to contemplate the landscape, or to 

 listen for his pursuer. If the hound press him 

 too closely, he leads off from mountain to moun- 

 tain, and so generally escapes the hunter ; but if 

 the pursuit be slow, he plays about some ridge 

 or peak, and falls a prey, though not an easy 

 one, to the experienced sportsman. 



A most spirited and exciting chase occurs when 

 the farm-dog gets close upon one in the open 

 field, as sometimes happens in the early morning. 

 The fox relies so confidently upon his superior 



