Gray Ghosts and Red Rangers

[Emily]

Stumbled on an interesting academic book on old-time fox hunting, Gray Ghosts and Red Rangers, American Hilltop Fox Chasing, by Thad Sitton. Published by University of Texas Press: http://utexaspress.com/index.php/books/sitgra
Its not by an insider, so it lacks some of the immediacy of some of the really great books, but it is full of information on the older breeds of fox and coyote hounds, mostly gleaned from extensive readings of the old fox hunting magazines, Red Ranger, The Chase, and Hunter's Horn. Lots of pictures. Told by a folklorist/anthropologist/historian college professor. Lots of excerpts from the old columnists. His theory is that fox hunting dried up as deer and coyotes came back and more people got protective of their deer leases. He didn't get everything right--he doesn't seem to think its possible to break a hound of deer chasing, for instance, but its kind of fun to see how peculiar and eccentric us houndsmen look to an outsider!