FOX HUNTING IN AMERICA. 251 
ball could kill it. In tne spring we induced one of our ser- 
vants to dig for the young foxes that had been seen at the 
burrow, which was known to be frequented by the Cross Fox. 
With an immense deal of labor and fatigue the young were 
dug out from the side of a hill; there were seven. Unfor- 
tunately we were obliged to leave home, and did not return 
until after they had been given away, and were distributed 
about the neighborhood. 
Three were said to have been black, the rest were red. 
The blackest of the young whelps was retained for us; and 
we frequently saw at the house of a neighbor another of the 
litter that was red, and differed in no respect from the com- 
mon Red Fox. The older our little pet became, the less it 
grew like the Black, and the more like the Cross Fox. It was, 
very much to our regret, killed by a dog when about six 
months old, and as far as we can recollect, was nearly of the 
color. 
The following autumn we determined to try our hand at 
procuring the enchanted fox, which was the parent of these 
young varieties, as it could always be started in the same 
vicinity. We obtained a pair of fine fox hounds, and gave 
chase. The dogs were young, and proved no match for the 
fox, which generally took a straight direction through cleared 
fields for five or six miles, after which it began winding and 
twisting among the hills, where the hounds on two occasions 
lost the scent, and returned home. 
On a third hunt, we took our stand near the corner of an 
old field, at a spot we had twice observed it to pass. It came 
at last, swinging its brush from side to side, and running 
with great rapidity, three quarters of a mile ahead of the 
dogs, which were yet out of hearing. A good aim removed 
the mysterious charm. We killed it with squirrel shot without 
the aid of a silver bullet. It was nearly jet-black, with the 
tip of the tail white. This fox was the female which had 
produced the young of the previous spring, that we have just 
