HOW A SLY OLD FOX WAS CAUGHT 



WILLIAM ALLEN BRUCE. 



Fox hunting in the Old Dominion is a 

 most enjoyable sport. We Virginians 

 boast that "no where else on earth does 

 fox hunting yield so much real pleasure as 

 here, sir!" and I believe we are right, for 

 I have read of the English methods of 

 •hunting this animal and of that followed by 

 clubmen in the East. I have helped to 

 hunt it in Vermont, where hunters use only 

 one or 2 hounds to start the fox and then 

 shoot it! All of which seems tame to one 

 who has enjoyed the chase as it is con- 

 ducted in Virginia. 



There every fox hunter has a pack of 

 10 to 15 hounds. These hounds are given 

 food enough to make them strong and 

 muscular, but never fat. "A lean dog for 

 a long chase" is our motto. Each hunter 

 thinks he has the best pack and "can catch 

 any fox that wears a hide, sir!" Each is 

 also independent of the others, but they 

 often join their packs to have a big day, 

 and then the sport is royal. Our dogs are 

 never led on chains into the field, but are 

 given their liberty. Neither do we keep 

 tame foxes and let them out for a chase. 

 We run wild foxes in the wild woods 

 where they know every inch of ground. 



The hunter gets up before day, feeds his 

 saddle horse and his hounds, eats a hurried 

 breakfast and just at daybreak starts out 

 blowing his horn. At the sound the 

 hounds rush ahead with joyous howls and 

 barks. Coming to likely ground, the dogs 

 are encouraged to "go." It does not take 

 them long to strike, and then the "Hark! 

 hark! hark" of the hunter can be heard 

 until all the hounds have joined in. After 

 trailing a while, the scent growing warmer 

 all the time and the music grander, the 

 fox is bounced. Then it is that every 

 hound sends forth his most joyous bay 

 until even the farmers drop their work and 

 follow as long as they have any hope of 

 seeing the chase. 



We have 2 varieties of fox in Virginia, 

 the gray and the red. The former runs in 

 a circle of 3 to 5 miles; the latter takes a 

 straight course, running sometimes 10 to 

 20 miles, which makes him hard to cap- 

 ture. Occasionally an unusually cunning 

 gray proves as hard to catch as a red. 

 One of that kind fooled the hunters of 

 Charlotte county for several months. Ar- 

 rangements were then made for a big 

 hunt, and my friend, Archer Moscley, in- 

 vited me to go along. 



"Who's going?" I asked. 



"Well," said he, "almost everybody." 



When the horns began to blow the next 

 morning I mounted my horse and made 

 for Faulkner's. Before I reached there 

 horn was answering horn in every direc- 

 tion, and we were soon all together. I 

 never saw so many dogs in one place be- 

 fore except at a bench show. As day was 

 breaking the hounds were started, in 20 

 minutes the trail was struck, and just as 

 the sun rose the fox was jumped. Then 

 the notes of -62 hounds rang out on the 

 crisp morning air to meet the shouts of 

 their masters, who by that time were spur- 

 ring their steeds in hot pursuit. The fox 

 made quick time right for the place where 

 he had hitherto escaped. The dogs fol- 

 lowed without a break and jumped the 

 fence not far from Mose, the old darkey, 

 who, in obedience to orders, said nothing 

 to the hounds. But when we rode up he 

 could hold in no longer. 



"Dat fox sho oughter be let libe, I de- 

 clar' ! I never seed sich a trick as dat!" 

 he cried. 



By that time the hounds had circled all 

 around but could not make the track go 

 farther than a few logs below the fence, 

 and then showed signs of giving up. One 

 of the hunters asked, 



"Where is the fox, Mose?" 



The old darkey fairly swelled wi^.h 

 pride at being able to enlighten so many 

 w'ite folks on such an important topic. 



"Does yo' all see dat scrub oak up dar 

 in de corner, ob dis fence wid dem grape 

 vines a-growin' ober it?" he asked. "And 

 does yo' see dat nest in de middle ob dem 

 grape vines? Well, dars de fox right up 

 dar. Ain't dat a trick?" 



After enjoying the expressions of aston- 

 ishment on our faces, Mose continued, 



"Dat ar fox cum 'cross dat field more'n 

 a mile afore dem dogs an' went ober dis 

 yer fence right dar. He run down dar in 

 de woods an' walked on dem logs an* on 

 dat stump an' into de tops ob dat tree 

 what's cut down dar. Den he come back 

 in de same track an' jumped up on dis 

 fence right whar he went ober de fust 

 time; he walked on de top rails tell he 

 cum to dat big nest, den jumped right up 

 into it. He is a-layin' dar yit, jes' as 

 scrumptious as you please!" 



Reynard was routed out, given 5 min- 

 utes' start and finally caught after a 2 

 hours' chase near the spot where he was 

 first jumped. Mose had the pelt to make 

 him a pair of "glubs," and he never tires 

 of telling how this sly old fox was caught. 



'93 



