Three Brothers and the Fox
Jan 4, 2010 13:05:07 GMT -5
Post by ozark on Jan 4, 2010 13:05:07 GMT -5
About a four inch good tracking snow fell during the night but the weather wasn't bitterly cold. My older brother went to check on a cow found where a fox had crossed a road near our house. He come back with a plan. A hair brained plan was usual for him. "Lets track that fox down, the pelt would be worth ten or twelve dollars. Tracks looked like a large one." He outlined the plan saying that he had several times tracked one all day without putting it in a hole or sighting it. "Ben, you track it until almost dark and I will get some sleep today and track it all night. If it don't go in a hole or give us a shot Audley can take up the track tomorrow morning." He told us it would go more or less in circles and not leave its home range of two or three miles. I dressed for a day out and took up the track. I made many miles that day as the track circled and often crisscrossed. I could tell it wasn't more than a half mile ahead of me judging from where we crossed our own paths and the elapsed time.
I never got a shot but did get a glimpse of the fox once. It was in a fast trot. About sundown we came within a half mile of home and I went hungry and tired for my relief. My older brother had his Carbide miners light and a can of carbide and ready for a night of it. He came back in just after sunrise so my brother just older than me could take up the job. Audley carried a shotgun and took a shot that was about a hundred yards distance. He said he found where pellets had disturbed the snow about half way to the position the fox was sighted. He stayed on the track until around 2:00 PM when it started raining and soon melted the snow. The fox won but I believe we would have put that Grey fox in the ground or shot it if the snow had held up. Never tried that stunt again. Its hard work but we all enjoyed it. The first day I found where it had caught and eat a cardinal bird. I learned how a fox kept a keen eye on its backtrail and how it searched brush areas and Brier patches out for prey. I know, readers were expecting some successful ending. Sometimes you don't win.
I never got a shot but did get a glimpse of the fox once. It was in a fast trot. About sundown we came within a half mile of home and I went hungry and tired for my relief. My older brother had his Carbide miners light and a can of carbide and ready for a night of it. He came back in just after sunrise so my brother just older than me could take up the job. Audley carried a shotgun and took a shot that was about a hundred yards distance. He said he found where pellets had disturbed the snow about half way to the position the fox was sighted. He stayed on the track until around 2:00 PM when it started raining and soon melted the snow. The fox won but I believe we would have put that Grey fox in the ground or shot it if the snow had held up. Never tried that stunt again. Its hard work but we all enjoyed it. The first day I found where it had caught and eat a cardinal bird. I learned how a fox kept a keen eye on its backtrail and how it searched brush areas and Brier patches out for prey. I know, readers were expecting some successful ending. Sometimes you don't win.
