afterward they lay about the
kennels, seeming to dread nothing so much as the having to move. The
stolen hunt was their "spree," and of course they must take time to get
over it.

Some old hunters think the fox enjoys the chase as much as the hound,
especially when the latter runs slowly, as the best hounds do. The fox
will wait for the hound, will sit down and listen, or play about,
crossing and recrossing and doubling upon his track, as if enjoying a
mischievous consciousness of the perplexity he would presently cause his
pursuer. It is evident, however, that the fox does not always have his
share of the fun: before a swift dog, or in a deep snow, or on a wet day
when his tail gets heavy, he must put his best foot forward. As a last
resort he "holes up." Sometimes he resorts to numerous devices to
mislead and escape the dog altogether. He will walk in the bed of a
small creek, or on a rail-fence. I heard of an instance of a fox, hard
and long pressed, that took to a rail-fence, and, after walking some
distance, made a leap to one side to a hollow stump, in the cavity of
which he snugly stowed himself. The ruse succeeded, and the dogs lost
the trail; but the hunter, coming up, passed by chance near the stump,
when out bounded the fox, his cunning availing him less than he
deserved. On another occasion the fox took to the public road, and
stepped with great care and precision into a sleigh-track. The hard,
polished snow took no imprint of the light foot, and the scent was no
doubt less than it would have been on a rougher surface. Maybe, also,
the rogue had considered the chances of another sleigh coming along,
before the hound, and obliterating the trail entirely.

Audubon tells of a fox, which, when started by the hounds, always
managed to elude them at a certain point. Finally the hunter concealed
himself in the locality, to discover, if possible, the trick. Presently
along came the fox, and, making a leap to one side, ran up the trunk of
a fallen tree which had lodged some feet from the ground, and concealed
himself in the top. In a few minutes the hounds came up, and in their
eagerness passed some distance beyond the point, and then went still
farther, looking for the lost trail. Then the fox hastened down, and,
taking his back-track, fooled the dogs completely.

I was told of a silver-gray fox in northern New York, which, when
pursued by the hounds, would run till it had hunted up another fox, or
the fresh trai