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DEMOCRATIC FOX HUNTING Sport for Riders and Dogs in Which Social Distinction Falls Hounds Carefully Bred and Kept Foxes Improved by Importation from England Fox hunting is the most democratic of all field sports When fox hunters meet one another all social distinction is leveled the love of the chase binding them into a brotherhood of universal fellow ¬ ship writes Game and Fish Commissioner John H Wallace of Alabama AlabamaIn In this country fox hunting for a long period was strictly a southern sport It is of English origin and when the English settlers came to Mary ¬ land and Virginia as early as 1G50 they brought fox hounds with them themIn In England a pack of fox hounds consisting of from twentyfive to forty couples is maintained cither by the wealthy individuals or else by the neighborhood In the south each gentleman owns his hounds Prior to the war between the states fox hunting was extremely popular throughout the south At that time the hounds in common use were the old blackandtan descendants of the ancient Talbot hounds whose pedigree is traceable for more than 2000 years These hounds could pursue a cold trail with ease having enormous muzzles they gave voluminous cry in pursuit of the quarry they had great endur ¬ ance and were accustomed to pursue the gray fox commonly found throughout the south for four or five hours without making a kill killRED RED FOX IMPORTED FROM ENGLAND ENGLANDIn In Maryland in order to meet the more diffi ¬ cult conditions the English fox hound was crossed with the Irish stag hound which produced hounds of creater speed and excellence than the ones used prior to that time In 1738 the English colonists being dissatisfied with the native gray fox imported the red fox from England and liberated it along he shores of the Chesapeake Bay The red fox usually makes great circles when pursued seeking safety in flight whereas the gray fox often seeks to elude the hounds by dodging and doubling in dense thickets thicketsThere There are numerous strains of hounds in common use throughout the south all of which are trace ¬ able to descendants of the Maryland and Virginia packs owned by the colonists colonistsThe The July hound which originated in Georgia is a poular strain George L F Birdsong also of Georgia a great fox hunter in his day likewise originated a strain called the Birdsong hounds houndsCol Col Hayden C Trigg of Glasgow Ky and the Walkers of Point Level Ky by crossing and careful breeding gave to the fox hunting fraternity strains of hounds bearing their names namesThe The modern fox hound possesses greater speed stamina and individual merit than the ancient Talbot TalbotALABAMA ALABAMA FOX HUNTING GLORY GLORYThe The Alabama fox hunter awakened by the first challenge of the brave chanticleer soon attires him ¬ self in hunting paraphernalia catches and saddles his horse and sounds a blast upon his hunters horn that awakens the sleeping echoes and sets the woodland dells aringing with the sweetest of mel ¬ low music In a moment the gallant pack eager for the chase surrounds him He rides toward the happy hunting grounds just as the radiant chaffs of the new born day quiver high in the heavens The stars one by one begin to pale of silvery luster and soon the sun kindles the forests in the east with gorgeous flames flamesThe The frost is sparkling in the grass blades be ¬ spangling them with icy prisms The aroma of the magnolia forests makes the soft southerly winds fragrant while there is no cloud in the sky to mar the perfect glory in an ideal hunting morn mornNearing Nearing the favorite haunts of the festive red fox the hounds are soon in quest of game soon the nestor of the pack sounds the first tocsin singly and in pairs like the tinkling of distant cowbells the hounds chime in for they know the nestor never cries a false track and soon all are diligently working to solve the problem of a cold and indif ¬ ferent scent scentThe The fos had passed along hours before but he could hot obliterate the scent left by his tracks Soon the cries of the hounds become sharper and quicker and like the magnificent crescendo of a grand orchestra the hounds jump the fox from his mossy lair and speed away in swift pursuit filling the hills and hollows with music wild yet thrilling and inspiring inspiringFond Fond of running over level field and proud of his fleetness of foot the spirited fox swings out into the plantation where the happy darkies are picking the snowy cotton cottonFOX FOX HOUNDS IN LIVELY ACTION ACTIONWith With nostrils red steaming and distended eyes dilated and flashing the hunters mount bears his rider to the midst of the running pack packThe The hounds are spread out like an open fan and dash high in the air like melted frost which descends like shower of diamond sparks The hounds race like demons to be the first to cry that burning scent that crazes their brains and converts them into yelping fiends fiendsThey They now cross the meadow and the fox with long poetic leaps comes splitting down the vale His head is held defiantly in the air his handsome brush is carried proudly on high highLike Like a streak of red he darts into the woods and is soon lost in its denseness Surpassingly grand is the unbroken cry echoing to the wooded ravines each tree seems a yelping hound and the forest a pack strongThat a million strong That electrifying march Full Cry is being ren ¬ dered by the grandest of musicians whose music has inspired kings and peasants and tuned their hearts and primed their souls to the enjoyment of Mother Natures sweetest cadences cadencesThe The fox has found that his revengeful pursuers will not be left behind for the air is damp and still and whither he went he left a scorching trail He now attempts by brilliant bursts of speed to dis ¬ tance the pack The chase is now two hours old oldThe The fox like a meteor rushes down the glade his plume is lower now but the gallant fellow gamely speeds on The short defiant yelps of the furious hounds now betoken that they are close upon the quarry quarryThe The hunters horse Is excited into his tiny ears of glossy satin the billowy bubbles of music impart the incentive that lends wings to his strong yet nimble feet and causes him to bear his rider to where the cry is thickest thickestThe The fox makes a sharp tack seeking to elude the hounds hut they will not be shaken off Hold Hear that defiant agonized cry It is a sight race The hounds see the fox his requiem is sounded at every note noteThe The hounds are catching at the foxs brush they close in and the splendid fox turns toward his fran ¬ tic pursuers and rushes into the steel hinged jaws of the leader meeting death as only the courageous die facing it without a murmur The murmurThe hunter dismounts his gleaming knife blade flashes in the sunlight as he severs the brush a staff of burnished gold dipped with polished ivory and a sensation of regret fills his heart that a creature so noble should forfeit his life after the superb sport he had offered on that magnificent October morning
