As soon as the hounds sniffed it, they
gave tongue in good earnest. It was a mixed, deep baying, that made the
blood quicken in my veins. While in the excitement of his first fright,
the fox would run fast for a mile or two, till he found it an easy
matter to keep out of the way of the hounds. Then he, cunning creature,
would begin to bother them. He would mount to the top pole of the worm
fence dividing the fields from the woods. He could trot along here quite
a distance and then make a long jump into the woods. The hounds would
come up, but could not walk the fence, and they would have difficulty in
finding where the fox had left it. Then we saw generalship. The hounds
scattered in all directions, and made long detours into the woods and
fields. As soon as the track was lost, they ceased to bay, but the
instant a hound found it again, he bayed to give the signal to the
others. All would hurry to the spot, and off they would go baying as
they went.

"Then Mr. Fox would try a new trick. He would climb a leaning tree, and
then jump to the ground. This trick would soon be found out. Then he'd
try another. He would make a circle of a quarter of a mile in
circumference. By making a loop in his course, he would come in behind
the hounds, and puzzle them between the scent of his first and following
tracks. If the snow was deep, the hounds had made a good track for him.
Over this he could run easily, and they would have to feel their way
along, for after he had gone around the circle a few times, he would
jump from the beaten path as far as he could, and make off to other
cover in a straight line. Before this was done it was my plan to get
near the circle, taking care to approach it on the leeward side. If the
fox got a sniff of human scent, he would leave his circle very quickly,
and make tracks fast to be out of danger. By the baying of the hounds,
the circle in which the race was kept up could be easily known. The last
runs to get near enough to shoot had to be done when the hounds' baying
came from the side of the circle nearest to me. For then the fox would
be on the opposite side farthest away. As soon as I got near enough to
see the hounds when they passed, I stopped. When they got on the
opposite side, I then kept a bright lookout for the fox. Sometimes when
the brush was thick, the sight of him would be indistinct. The shooting
had to be quick. As soon as the report of the gun was heard, the hounds
ceased to bay, and