The Life of a Fox, Written by HimselfSmith, Thomas
General
The Life of a Fox, Written by Himself
Smith, Thomas
Fox hunting
although each of the other sides were tried by casting the hounds that
way twice over, they were never taken once round beyond the field to
the left; and to this I attribute my escape, for I was nearly beaten,
and it appeared that the pack which I found such difficulty in shaking
off and defeating by turning so short as I had done during the run, was
that which belonged to the late Mr. Codrington. It is stated that they
killed every fox that they hunted during eight following weeks. They
are said not to be compared for beauty to the former pack, which is
reported to have been a magnificent one; but “handsome is that handsome
does.”
Now, my friends, I will tell you why I prefer hedgerows and
out-of-the-way places to fix on for a kennel. Listen to a matter
of fact, but a melancholy story of what took place in a part of the
country where I was bred. It happened when in a favourite little covert
near Namptwich that I was attracted by the scent of a bait which was
placed under a large iron trap, carefully covered over with some light
grass and moss; on attempting to remove these I unfortunately struck
the trap, which went off and caught me by the foot. Need I describe
the agony I endured, confined as I was by the mangled foot? Daylight
appeared, when, nearly exhausted with pain, I made a desperate effort
with my other forefoot, and succeeded in pulling out the peg that
confined to the ground the chain of the trap, which I dragged away
for some distance. I then lay down overcome with pain, and in this
deplorable condition remained for two or three days and nights. The
foot being now as it were benumbed and almost insensible, I in order to
save my life fairly bit it off with my teeth, and thus released myself
from the trap. Not long after this had occurred a more tragical affair
took place in this very same covert. In the early part of the month
of March in the present year 1843, I was lying, as was my custom, in
a thick and broad hedge, when late in the day I was much frightened by
the approach of the hounds, passing near me rather quickly to my great
relief, for it appeared that they had not found a fox all day. They
immediately begun drawing the covert, and shortly afterwards a fox was
seen with an iron trap fast to his foreleg, which was broken above the
knee. In the course of a few minutes the fatal “whoop” was heard, the
signal of his death.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account