Nov. 34, 1893.] 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



488 



had seen no foxes coDgratulated themselves on the fact that 

 others of the party were no doubt engaged in successfully 

 sustaining the credit of the club. This conclusion was war- 

 ranted that night when the outcome of the hunt was known. 

 Later in the day I climbed the moiintain and from the sum- 

 mit obtained a most lovely and entrancing view. 



At my feet was a little pond surrounded by a fringe of 

 yel low marsh grass and bordered by a bank of pines, and 

 reflecting the craggy hill above it. A little furthpr was a 

 gently rounded ridge thickly grown up with chestnut trees. 

 Beyond that the plain of the Woronoco Valley. This is a 

 tawny yellow plain framed by the dark background of the 

 hills. In it, each with its fringe of pines or hardwoods, as 

 the case might be, nestled three lovely lakes, the Hampton 

 Ponds. The dark line of hills that cut the western horizon 

 was part of the Berkshire Hills. While 1 was on the moun- 

 tain several of the hunters came along, following a chase to 

 the northward. On the east side of the ridge I joined with 

 them and finally found myself with Burton Holcomb in close 

 proximity to Mount Tqm. The hounds could be heard near 

 the summit of a sUde scarred hill of! to the east. Her" I 

 left him and made my way back to the main party. No 

 doubt he caught the fox playing along the ledges and secured 

 the pelt, for Mr. Holcomb is one of the most successful 

 hunters in Westfield, but of this I have no certain knowl- 

 edge. 



About forty hunters were out Thursday, and half that 

 number of hounds. From early morning till sundown the 

 woods about old East Mountain re-echoed with the musical 

 voices of the dogs, and at almost any time during the day 

 one in a good position could hear a chase running. Five 

 foxes were tilled, one by Dr. Cowing, of Northampton; one 

 by Mr. Owen, of East Granby, Conn ; one by Mr. Williams, 

 of Southampton; one by Mr. Sibley, of Westfield; and one 



'} "by a German farm laborer living near East Mountain. 



At the hotel that evenine President Roraback received a 

 telegram from Mr. Wallace, of Parmington, Conn,, who had 

 been present the first day of the meeting, saying that 



, together with a friend be had killed three foxes before his 

 pack on his own stamping ground. It was certainly an 

 ideal day for fox hunting, and no doubt other good scores 

 were made throughout New England. 



BRUNSWICK FUR CLUB FIELD TRIALS. 



The fourth annual field trials of the Brunswick Fur Club 

 were held at Ossipee, N. H., Nov. 15 to 19. The weather 

 was most unfavorable, two of the three days devoted to the 

 All-Age class being so foggy and rainy that at times it was 

 impossibe for the judges to see more than a few yards or to 

 tell one hound from another. Yet the trials, fverything 

 considered, must be regarded as a success, and the awards 

 as in the main r-orrett. While a few changes might possibly 

 have resulted had the All-Age class been run for three whole 

 days as prescribed by the rules, still the best hoTinds un- 

 doubtedly came to the fi'ont. The judges worked faithfully. 

 It is no easy task to judge a pack of twenty five foxhounds 

 running through the valleys and over the foothills of the 

 White Mountains, and if mistakes were made they were 

 due to the great difficulties which the judges encountpred 

 and not to any lack of zeal on the part of those officials The 

 decisions were well received by the majority of those inter 

 ested. There was some grumbling, but most of the disap 

 pointed bore their defeat like true sportsmen. Foxes were 

 very plentiful, and on Thursday no less than five were seen 

 by one man. The countrv was not as suitable for a field 

 trial as the region about Princeton; the hills are higher and 

 there is more cover. The foxhounds entered at these trials 

 were of the very highest quality and represented all the 

 thoroughbred strains of the country. They made a notable 

 pack, and the fact that all but two are owned in New Eng- 

 land shows the great interest now taken in hounds in this 

 part of the country. The record of the Brunswick Fur Club 

 during the past year proves that its members will have no 

 hounds but the best, and will spare no expense to get them. 

 Many of those entered were veritable flyers, and the day is 

 coming when foxes will be caught by the hounds in New 

 ■England as well as in the South. The Carroll House was 

 all that could be desired as a club headquarters, the propri- 

 etor doing everything possible for the comfort of his guests. 

 Fox hunters are proverbially social, and the yarns spun 

 around the great open fireplaces of the smoking room would 

 fill a volume. Besides those 7nentioned in the last issue of 

 FOSEST AJS'I> StkeA-M there were present during the week J 

 Rickard, Mh' rhester, N. H., A. E. Thomas, Stratford, N. H. 

 N. Q. Pope, Poland, Me.; Robert Pevey and C. M. Hill, Cen 

 tre Strafford, N. H.; F. G. Stewart, Poland. Me., and many 

 others. 



On Wednesday sportsmen and hounds arrived by every 

 train, and in the evening the Carroll House was full to over- 

 flowing. But the proprietor found room for all, and a 

 smoking hot supper of roast coon with all the "fixins" put 

 every one in good humor. At the club meeting in the even- 

 ing, President Hefl'enger in the chair, the American Field 

 cup and the various prizes were exhibited and E. H. Haj- 

 den, Plymouth, Mass , was admitted to membership. The 

 entries "in the Derby were made and the judges selected as 

 announced in last week's issue. 



Geo. J. Garrett, Columbus, Ga., the breeder of the cele 

 brated July foxhounds, was heartily welcomed by the club. 

 He is the first Southern fox hunter that has ever attended a 

 meet here, and his presence shows the constantly increasing 

 interest which is taken among fox hunters the country over 

 in the annual trials of the Brunswick Fur Club. It is hoped 

 that other sportsmen from the South and West will follow 

 his example: they will certainly receive a cordial greeting. 



THURSDAY. 



The niurning was cloudy and threatening, and in the 

 afternoon the rain came down in a steady drizzle. The 



f round was covered with melting snow and a dense fog 

 ung over hills and valleys, making it difficult to recognize 

 the different hounds in the pack. 



The party was up at o o'clock, had a hot breakfast and 

 left headquarters at 6:10 with the Derby entries. Just out- 

 side the village, near the countv farm, the hounds were 

 cast off iu a large field at 6:30. They went off well packed, 

 at a good pace, and soon entered cover. Here most of them 

 showed a desire to hunt and displayed intelligence in their 

 work, but many had never seen snow before and to hunt 

 on it was a new experience for all. So it is not surprising 

 that, though they came across one or two fox tracks which 

 looked fresh, they failed to take them. Working down into 

 the valley the pack became scattered. A number of the 

 hounds, confused by the snow and the strange country, re- 

 turned to their masters and showed but little inclination 

 to hunt. The tog was constantly becoming more dense and 

 it was impossible for the judges stiugghng up the steei3 

 sides of Batson Mountain to see a hundred yards. Now 

 and then a hound was heard tonguing, but no one could 

 tell whether he was trailing the pack, his master or a fox. 

 At 10 o'clock the judges ordered the pack up, the pups L ;v 

 ing failed to mate a strike. Six of the eight entr-es came 

 to the horn, but Camp did not get home till Friday and 

 Popjjie was away lill Saturday. These two houuds, with 

 Garrett, did the best of the little work which came under 

 the observation of the judges in this very unsatisfacboiy 

 day's work. 



In the afternoon A. McDonald and E. H. Hayden went on 

 a hunt for fur, and the former shot a fox ahead of some 

 local hounds, wounded a second and a third was started. 

 Th'se hounds belonged to Mr. Buzwell, and he proudly 

 showed seventeen coon and four fox skins nailed to the 

 side of his barn, all captured within a few weeks. 



A club meeting was held in the evening, Vice-President 

 Kinney in the chair. It was voted to run the All Age class 

 two days instead of three and to devote Friday to the Derby. 

 This change was made to accomodate members who wished 

 o leave Os.sipee on Saturday morning. 



As Dr. Heffenger had a hound entered in the All- Age, A. 

 R. Thomas, of Strafford, N. H., was appointed to judge in 

 this cla.ss with Mes.srs. Gill and Turpin. 



The entrieslfor the All-Age closed in the evening. There 

 are five classes— huntiug, speed, endurance, trailing and 

 harkiug— and hounds can be entered in all or'any of them. 

 Twenty-one were entered in all classes and four in special 

 classes", as noted be.low. 



All-Agre Class. 



•Joe J.— O. F. Jo.slin's black, white and tan dog, lyr, (Wild 

 Choose and Native). 



Leads All— E. J. Bate's red dog, 3yrs, CWild Goose). 



Gray Jack— A. McDonald's black, white and tan ticked 

 dog, 4vrs. (Native). 



Cepha.s— A. McDonald's black, white and tan dog, 3yr8. 

 (Native). 



Hendricks — ^Portsmouth Hunt Club's white and gray 

 dog. 4yrs. (July) 



JtM— R. Seeley's black and white dog, 2}4yTs. (Buckfield— 

 Byron). 



■jack— Kinney & White's black, white and tan dog, .5yrs. 

 (Native). 



Major— Kinney & White's white and tan dog, 3yrs. 

 (Native). 



Billy— Kinney & White's white and blue dog, 3yrs. 

 (Native). 



Logan— Kinney & White's white and tan dog, 2yrs. 

 (Goodman). 



Aggie— Kinney & White's tan and white bitch, 3yrs. 

 \Gooriman). 



QUILTIE— R. D. Perry's black, white and tan bitch, 3yrs. 

 (Wild Goose and Native). 



Clinker— R. D. Perry's black nnd tan dog, 3yrs. (Avent). 



Sport— G. P. Berry's black and tan dog, 4yrs. (Native). 



Belva— Dr. Whittier's orange and white bitch, .5yrs. 

 (English and Native). 



Duff— J. H. Baird's black and white dog, ayrs. (English 

 and Native). 



Clay— N. Q. Pope's black, white and tan dog, 4yrs. (Good- 

 man). 



French— N. Q. Pope's black, white and tan bitch, 4yrs, 



(Goodman). 



Orange— N. Q Pope's orange and white dog, 3yrs. (Good- 

 mnn). 



Peeler— N. Q. Pope's black and tan dog, 4yrs, (July). 



Fleet— W. S. Russell's black, tan and white dog, 3yrs. 

 (Golddust and Enslish). 



* Crook— J, H. Baird's black, white and tan dog, ayrs. 

 (Walker). 



+ Chlm— N. Stewart's black, white and tan dog, Syrs. 

 (English). 



t PADDY- N. Stewart's black, white and tan dog, 3yis. 

 (English). 



t Jim Blaine— Dr. Whittier's black, white and tan dog, 

 B^rs. (Che.ster Co.) 



WEDNESDAY. 



The rain pattered on the roof of the Carroll House all 

 night, and each foxhunter peered anxiously out of his win- 

 dow when the gong sounded at .5 A. M. The outlook was 

 not re-assuriog. The rain still fell and the clouds hung low 

 on the mountains, but the snow had disappeared. After 

 breakfast the rain stopped and the All Age class was at 

 once ordered out. The line left headquarters at 6:4-5 and 

 was so m at the place where the Derby entries were started 

 on Tuesday. As the All Age lined up waiting for R D. 

 Perry, M. F. H., to give the signal to let them go, the pic- 

 ture was one to excite the enthusiasm of a stoic. In the 

 pack of twenty-five were not only typical representatives of 

 nearly all the celebrated strains of this country, but im- 

 ported English hounds were also present. It was a scene 

 never to be torgotteo, and as many foxhound fanciers truly 

 said, "Such hounds were never seen together before in this 

 country." At the sound of the horn the eager pack was off 

 with a rush. They crossed the open field at top speed and 

 entered cover. Here the pack divided, part working the 

 woods and pirt coming into the open again. The latter 

 division, led by Clinker and Quiltie, closely followed by 

 Joe J., Leads All and one or two others, jumped the stone 

 walla and covered the meadows very prettily. Crook, Aggie, 

 Hendricks and a number of the hounds meanwhile clung to 

 the woods. The ground was full of water and the continual 

 rain had washed out all the tracks of the preceding night. 

 In vain the hounds worked the hills and valleys; they could 

 not find a trail hot or cold. A few seemed to think the bunt 

 nothing buta lark, and were now with the pack and now 

 with their ma^tere. Duff was a little inclined to babble, 

 and Fleet, Paddy, Logan, Major and Belva for a time divided 

 their attention between the judges and the hounds in the 

 wet woods, doing but little tiunting just then. But they 

 had not been out long before the majority of the hounds 

 divided into two pacfcs In the first were Crook, Quiltie, 

 Leads All, Clinker, Aggie and Clay. 



The second was composed of Orange, French, ^Joe J., 

 Peeler, Gray Jack, Hendricks, Chum, Cephas, Logan and 

 Major. AJost of the other hounds, some of them used to 

 hunting alone, were working here and there by themselves, 

 while one or two were looking for their masters. The packs 

 cov-red the ground rapidly, and at least one of the judges, 

 as he climbed the steep hills and waded the swollen brooks, 

 thought what an easy task it was to judge beagles com- 

 pared with the work he then bad in hand. The pack had 

 not been cast off half an hour when the fog began to grow 

 thicker and thicker. Then Jupiter Pluviu.s took a hand in 

 the hiiot, and first sent a little shower or two and then, to 

 show his power, threw down the rain by the bucketful. It 

 never rained harder, and the spectators rapidly sought 

 shelter, leaving the judges and a few others to follow the 

 hounds. After a little time Jack, Clay and French man- 

 aged to trail a short way and encouraged us for a few min- 

 utes, but it all can]e to nothing. Then Belva, Jim Blaine 

 and one or two others decided to drive rabbits as they could 

 not find a foX; and made the woods ring merrily for a half 

 hour. By this time it was evident that nothing could be 

 accomplished by hunting the dogs longer, and at 9:30 the 

 M. F. H. .sounded the retreat. All the hounds were in by 

 noon, and thus another day went by without a run. A 

 wetter body of men that straggled into the Carroll House 

 between 10 and 12 o'clock it won Id be hard to find. Even a 

 compass carried by one of the judges was full of water. The 

 afterooon was passed in spinning yarns, drying clothes and 

 whistling " Wait till the clouds roll by." 



President Heffenger presided over the club meeting in the 

 evening. It was decided to run the All- Age class Thursday 

 and Friday nnd the Derby on Saturday ; to hold the wiuter 

 meet at Westminster, Mass., and to have the annual meet 

 ing hereafter in January instead of Febuary. N. Q. Pope 

 Poland, Me. , was elected to membership. 



THURSDAY. 



When the gong awoke us at 5 o'clock, as usual, there was 

 not a cloud in the sky, the wind was light, and tvi-rything 

 promised a day of perfect sport. For the first time we were 

 able to see that we were in a mountainous region, and Mt. 



* Entered only in classes for endurance and huniing, 

 + Entered only in classes for hunting. 



* Entered only in classes tor barking, trailing and hunting . 



Washington, with its snow-capped head, looked down upon 

 the finest pack of hounds ever seen in New Hampshire, The 

 club left the hotel at 6:10, and a half-hour later the hounds 

 were cast off in Reid's pasture. .Joe J., Leads All, Jack, 

 Quiltie and Clay led the rush into cover and the balance of 

 toe pack followed them closely. As they hurried on, Gray 

 Jack among the last, did a very pretty piece of work, striking 

 a cold track which all the leaders of the pack had overrun. 

 Hendricks, Sport and Crook harked to him and they trailed 

 rapidly into cover leading away in the distance. They soon 

 jumped the fox, turned, and as they entered a swanap 

 Cephas and Sport were a trifie in advance of the pack a,nd 

 all were in full cry. But the swamp, which was almost im 

 passable even for the hon.nds, threw them all off and they 

 were at fault for some time, tonguing here and there. Finally 

 Hendricks and Crook led oft' to the west, a division went to 

 the east, and one or two put in time back tracking. Hen- 

 dricks and the hounds with them soon struck a trail and 

 carried it along to the foot of the Leighton Hill and jumped 

 their tox at 7:40. He took up the hill and crossed the road 

 in plain view of spectators, hard pressed by the pack, led now 

 by Hendricks and Jack. The fox was turned and the houuds 

 were at fault for a moment, and then were seen carrying the 

 fox down the hill at a terrible pace; Jack was now well in 

 the lead, but, in the open. Crook outr footed him and rapidly 

 closed the gap, while the rest of the pack in full cry but 

 somewhat strung out, followed on. This fox had no sooner 

 got out of sight than a second fox was seen coming down the 

 hill just in the rear of the spectators. On his track came 

 Cephas, Clinker and Hendricks neck and neck, but they 

 were all thrown oft' at the wall and failed to pick up the 

 track in the open, though they cast well for it. 



A half hour later a third fox came down from the summit; 

 as he was about to cross the wall he catight sight of the 

 crowd and turned sharply back. On came the hounds with 

 a rush over the wall and into the open, where they circled 

 for some time in vai n. At last the loss was worked by Clay, 

 and away the pack went again into the valley toward Batson 

 Mountain, their voices dying out in the distance, the last to 

 be distinguished being "that of Berry's Sport. Meantime 

 Peeler tried his hand hunting by himself, and soon hustled 

 a fox out of a clump of pines and ran him well for some 

 time. Still further to the east Leads All and Major, at the 

 base of Batson Mountain, jumped another fox and hustled 

 him at great speed till they compelled him to seek refuge in 

 the ground. The hounds were now scattered far and wide, 

 the mountain was covered with fresh tracks and the music 

 fi'om the various packs filled the air. It was impossible for 

 the three judges to see more than a small fraction of the 

 work, hurry as they would from one place to another. About 

 noon a hound began to trail on the north side of Leighton's 

 Hill, the others harked to him, and soon a burst of music 

 showed that they had jumped their fox. He led away for 

 Batson Mountain, Aggie and Leads All in advance; but as 

 he came to the town road two small boys turned him back, 

 and he ran to a grove of sugar maples. The fourteen hounds 

 were badly thrown, but at last trailed back to the maples, 

 where they made a dead loss. All day the scent had failed 

 to lay as it should, and many unaccountable losses had been, 

 made. When the pack divided early in the morning, Peeler, 

 Orange, Logan, Aggie and Jim Blaine led away to the east, 

 jumped a fox and ran him out of hearing beyond Batson 

 Mouutain. 



In the evening the judges announced that the best work 

 of the day, in the various classes, had been done by the fol- 

 lowing bounds: Hunting— First Jack, second Gray Jack, 

 third Hendricks. Trailing— First Leads All, second Jack, 

 third Jop J. Speed— First Ageie, second Leads All, third 

 Peeler. Endurance — First .Jack, second Crook, third Jim 

 Blaine. Barking— First Duff, second Leads All, third 

 Aggie. Style — First Clinker, second Hendricks, third Jim. 



FRIDAY. 



The sky was dark and a heavy fog hid the mountains. 

 The party left the Carroll House at 6:30, and half an hour 

 later the pack went off with a rush into the pine woods at 

 the foot of the Reid pasture. Gray .Jack, showing his usual 

 ability for cold trailing, hit a track at the edge of the woods 

 and went off rapidly xipon it. The rest of the pack disap- 

 peared iu the woods trailing on a ridge between two 

 swamps. One of the judges, by a short cut, managed to get 

 ahead of the pack. As they came by him Aggie, who was 

 leading, threw her head in tlie air and with a rush shot into 

 a bixDch of birch shoots, and from the further side dashed a 

 fox. It was a beautiful piece of work. The others were on 

 at once. With a sudden burst of music and at a famous 

 pace they dashed down the ridge. The fox immt-diately 

 took to the swamp, and it was hicky for him it was so near. 

 He got quite a lead on the pack while they were checked. 

 After a few minutes they straightened out the track and 

 away they went toward Leighton Hill, their voices growing- 

 fainter and fainter till they died out iu the distance. All 

 of the pack were not on, some having got thrown in the 

 swamp, and they cast here and there for a trail, but only a 

 few showed the energy of yesterday. 



The fog was thick, and it was difficult to find one's way in 

 the dark woods. Finally the judges sot out of the wil'der- 

 ness, and going up Leighton's Hill found Clay, Jim and 

 Billy trailing rapidly to the east. Clay doing the be.st work 

 of the three. While the.se hounds were trailing, Duff, Crook 

 and Belva, further up the mountain, jumped a fox and car- 

 ried him away to Moody Hill, where Duff's beautiful voice 

 could be heard now near and then far away. Meanwhile the 

 fog had become so thick that it was impos'sible to see 30yds , 

 and the judges took stands on different parts of the moun- 

 tain, hoping by good luck to get a view of the pack. After 

 Jim, Billy and Clay had trailed for a half -hour they jumped 

 their fox, and away they went up the hill, and the" greatest 

 run of the week was on. Clay cut out the work and {^et a 

 furious pace, Jim kept close to him, while Billy, in the rear, 

 was straining every muscle to be in the race. So for an hour 

 or more they drove the fox around the mountaiu. Then 

 Hendricks struck on with them and these four drove rey- 

 nard to the ledges and back again, making the circuit in a 

 little more than half an hour. The fog lifted. As they carne 

 again to Leighton 3 Hill the fox took to a stonewall and 

 checked the pack for a few minutes. Hendricks ran the 

 wall, straightened out the track aod once more they were 

 off in full cry, Logan and Major now harking to them. At 

 the railroad track they were checked, but Clay, who had 

 been doing some wonderful trailing at top speed, hit it oft" 

 and once more they went to the ledges. The fox now found 

 he had no ordinary pack after him. He dodged into a flock 

 of sheep, ran walls and weut through swamps, but all in 

 vain. These houuds were running to kill. As the fox be- 

 came hard pressed there was no time for him to play hiS 

 .stone wall tricks, and he was looking only for safety. 



The pack meanwhile had increased in numbers, and. 

 while Clay and Hendricks led, Clioker, Leads All, Aggie', 

 Joe .J , and others followed hard. At noon they reached 

 Leighton's Hill again, and Hendricks was now leading with 

 Clay a good second, Logan third, and then the pack. Fifty 

 minutes later the terrible pace aad proved too fast for many 

 of the hounds, but Hendricks and Clay were still in the 

 lead and gaining on the fox. For a half hour more the 

 chase continued, the hounds with Hendricks and Clay in 

 front were crazy with excitement as they gained on their 

 quarry. The dash and spirit of the hounds, their wonderful 

 trailing and extraordinary speed had never been approached 

 at the trials in the past. As a la,st resort the fox, almost 

 exhausted, with the eager pack close behind him, made for 

 the burrows. Not a moment too soon. As he' entered a 

 hound grabbed him, but captured only his brush. It was 

 found by Dr. Heft'enger at the mouth of the den. This 

 ended a. most exciting run, in which nearly all the flyers 



