FOX. 
427 
in which I was concealed ; he looked with great care over the 
turf wall into the field, and seemed to long to get hold of some 
hares that were feeding in it, but apparently knew that he had 
no chance of catching one by dint of running ; after considering 
a short time he seemed to have formed his plans, and having 
examined the different gaps in the wall by which the hares 
might be supposed to go in and out, he fixed upon the one that 
seemed the most frequented, and laid himself down close to it in 
an attitude like a cat watching a mouse. Cunning as he was, 
he was too intent on his own hunting to be aware that I was 
within twenty yards of him with a loaded rifle, and able to watch 
every movement that he made. I was much amazed to see the 
fellow so completely outwitted, and kept my rifle ready to shoot 
him if he found me out and attempted to escape. Jn the mean- 
time I watched all his plans. He first with great silence and 
care scraped a small hollow in the ground, throwing up the 
sand as a kind of screen between his hiding-place and the hares’ 
mews ; every now and then, however, he stopped to listen, and 
sometimes to take a most cautious look into the field ; when he 
had done this he laid himself down in a convenient position for 
springing upon his prey, and remained perfectly motionless with 
the exception of an occasional reconnoitre of the feeding hares. 
When the sun began to rise, they came one by one from the 
field to the cover of the plantation ; three had already come in 
without passing by his ambush; one of them came within 
twenty yards of him, but he made no movement beyond crouch- 
ing still more closely to the ground. Presently two came 
directly towards him ; though be did not venture to look up, I 
saw by an involuntary motion of his ears that those quick 
organs had already warned him of their approach : the two 
hares came through, the gap together, and the fox, springing 
with the quickness of lightning, caught one and killed her 
immediately ; he then lifted up his booty and was carrying it 
off like a retriever, when my rifle-ball stopped his course by 
passing through his back-bone, and I went up and despatched 
him. 
Numberless instances are on record showing the remark- 
able cunning of foxes in procuring bait from traps without 
allowing themselves to be caught. These cases are so 
numerous, and all display so much the same quality of 
intelligence, that it is impossible to doubt so great a 
concurrence of testimony. I shall only give two or three 
specific cases, to show the kind of intelligence that is in 
