Yoicks

The English country gentleman galloping after a fox--the unspeakable in full pursuit of the uneatable.

--Oscar Wilde

In the U.S. some people still hunt foxes, but the sport has largely moved from the tax-oppressed millionaires' countryside to farmers' country, and it is carried on in a variety of styles that Wilde could never have imagined.

Last week at the little (pop. 2,560) farming town of Dawson Springs, Ky., the 57th annual trials of the National Foxhunters Association were held with some 900 of the country's top foxhounds in competition. The unspeakables were an oddly assorted group ranging from pink-coated riders to gallused mountaineers. The uneatables were the sly red foxes that abound in the region. The full pursuit was a well-organized chase, not necessarily to catch the fox, but to find out which hound could best stand the gaff of the rugged, three-day test.

For the judges, always in full pursuit of the pack, the weeding-out process was partly simplified as some of the hounds got out of touch and ranged clear out of sight over the hills. Other hounds "babbled," i.e., bayed before the scent was picked up, and were promptly disqualified. Still others were thrown out for "loafing" (disinclination to hunt) and for "running cunning" (failing to work the proper trail).

The traits the judges sought were hunting ability (eagerness to pick up the trail); trailing, once the scent had been found; speed, drive and endurance which sometimes call for a hound to cover 35 miles in a five-hour test. By the third day of the meeting the judges had eliminated all but 100 hounds. Of these, two hounds seemed head & shoulders above the pack: Meggs White Girl, owned by Farmer J. W. Meggs of Marshville, N.C., and Dr. Luke, owned by Farmer R. B. Murphy of Bahama, N.C.

At daybreak of the final day, the field was lined up for the final cast. Some of the entries were in sorry shape, suffering from cut paws, deep brier gashes along their smooth coats, and general hang-tongue weariness. In the five hours they worked, the hounds flushed, chased and gave tongue after seven red foxes, with the 14 judges galloping hell-for-leather after them. After eight hours of deliberation, consultation and comparing of notes, the judges awarded both top contenders 200 points--then for superior hunting ability they gave the championship nod to tail-wagging, tongue-lolling Meggs White Girl.

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