Monday, February 25, 2013

I don't miss fox hunting

I'm sure there are many things I've missed in my life, some that would have given me thrills like jumping out an airplane; others that would have given me both knowledge and pleasure, like world travel, but among the things I never did and never desired to do is fox hunting.

We had some neighbors who lived  about a quarter mile east of us who had a pack of mournful looking dogs who   had only one purpose -- fox hunting.  When I was a kid I would see these fox hunters drag by along with their dogs after a night  of hunting, but always without a fox.  I don't know if my dad ever went fox hunting -- it is very doubtful that he did since he wasn't a hunter -- but he explained fox hunting to me.

It had little resemblance to the pictures of  high society English men and women jumping fences as they and their dogs chased the fox.  No, our hunters would take their hounds to the woods, build a fire and wait while the dogs searched for the scent of the fox.  When one dog caught the scent, the other dogs would join and off they would go.  The hunters would sit around the fire drinking white lightning and listening to the dogs. One guy would say, "That's old Blue, he's in the lead."  Every hunter could identify the baying of his hound. That could go on all night until dawn.

I'm sure I've missed a lot in my life. Fox hunting is not among them.

No comments:

Post a Comment