92 



THE FOX. 



squeak as nearly like a mouse as possible. Reynard 

 will hear the sound at an incredible distance. Prick- 

 ing up his ears, he gets the direction, and comes trot- 

 ting along as unsuspiciously as can be. I have never 

 had an opportunity to try the experiment, but I know 

 perfectly reliable persons who have. One man, in the 

 pasture getting his cows, called a fox which was too 

 busy mousing to get the first sight, till it jumped upon 

 the wall just over where he sat secreted. Giving a 

 loud whoop and jumping up at the same time, the fox 

 came as near being frightened out of his skin as I sus- 

 pect a fox ever was. 



In trapping for the fox, you get perhaps about as 

 much " fun " and as little fur, as in any trapping amuse- 

 ment you can engage in. The one feeling that ever 

 seems present to the mind of Reynard, is suspicion. 

 He does not need experience to teach him, but seems 

 to know from the jump that there is such a thing as a 

 trap, and that a trap has a way of grasping a fox's paw 

 that is more frank than friendly. Cornered in a hole 

 or den, a trap can be set so that the poor creature has 

 the desperate alternative of being caught or starve. 

 He is generally caught, though not till he has braved 

 hunger for a good many days. 



But to know all his cunning and shrewdness, bait 

 him in the field, or set your trap by some carcass where 

 he is wont to come. In some cases he will uncover 

 the trap, and leave the marks of his contempt for it in 

 a way you cannot mistake, or else he will not approach 



