Well Known Hunters And Hounds In This Race 44 Years Ago
By Alex W. Parrish, Berea, Ky
The Hunter’s Horn
Pages Eight & fifteen
This fox race was run in 1906. 44 years ago this coming June, at Log Cabin School House, 12 miles
south of Richmond, Kentucky, off Big Hill Pike, Route 25, to run the best running red fox that I ever
heard hounds put after. This fox was never known to take a hole and was the talk of all over the
country for miles around as a “hound killer.” The hunters just quit running this fox as it took so long
for their hounds to get over it and there were some of them that never got over it.
The hunters all met and agreed to take two of their best and gamest hounds they thought could finish
or put the fox in a hole. The date was set and we invited all hunters to bring only two hounds. About
4:30 p.m. they began to arrive in buggies and on horseback as that was before automobile days. I
rode horseback, took 4 hounds that followed me. So, about 3:30 p.m. I hit the road on a good walking
horse as I had fifteen miles to ride. Mr. Park and Mr. Steve Walker, Mr. Bob Walker’s father; Mr. Ed
Walker, Mr. Wood Walker’s father; Mr. Johnson of Illinois and Arthur Ball went in buggies. Mr. Park
and myself farmed together and we kept our hounds together at my place. The names of the hunters
who were there were: Ed Walker, Sr., Steve Walker, John Park, Jim Kantazar, W.S. Million, Cull
Maupin, Jennings Maupin, Clay Maupin, Jep Chenault, Brack Maupin, Jasper Maupin, Tom Flannery,
Will Ed Johnson, Bev Johnson, Bob Hudson, John Hisle, Arthur Ball, George Young, Wit Lewis, R. F.
Johnson from Illinois, Rome Terrill, Clay Jones, John Crawford and myself, Parrish. There were twenty-
five hunters and fifty hounds.
Mr. Ed Walker and Mr. Park brought a half side of country bacon each, and all the rest had bacon,
cornbread and there was a two gallon coffee pot to make black coffee in. We had just got in a good
way cooking and eating supper when John Crawford and Rome Terrill’s Red Molley hit right on top the
fox coming right to us running like she saw it. All the rest of the hunters made a break to turn all the
other hounds loose. We cut loose 46 hounds on her and that was before sundown. The fox never
ran off 200 acres for two and one-half hours, just around and around. Mr. Steve Walker said to me,
“That’s a grey fox and they are going to catch it.” It wasn’t long before the fox pulled out for Pine
Woods and Little Brushy Knob. Went around Brushy Knob and out of hearing for about ten minutes,
when going around Brushy Knob. Here they came, fifty picked hounds, all in a pile. It seemed like
they were running over one another. You never heard anything like that. Such a roar and echo in
those big valleys, you couldn’t tell or pick any mouth. This one race you never heard anyone claiming
anything. Once in a while you would hear some hunter speak up, “Did you ever hear anything like
that?”, and this lasted for 12 and one-half hours. If there was ever a break or lose made, we never
heard it. It was a constant grind all the time.
About 2:30 a.m. the hounds began to fall out and at daylight there were about 20 to 25 still running
right on top of the fox. They came by us at 5:30 a.m. Mr. Johnson of Illinois had a bitch that hadn’t run
any so they put right after the fox. From then on they sure hurt those tired, worn out hounds. About 6
a.m. they went back to Pine Woods. It is flat and brushy with a log road all through it and the fox and
hounds had settled in those woods. I got on my horse and Uncle Steve Walker said: “What re you
going to do?” I told him that I was going to Pine Woods to see it finished. Uncle Steve said to me,
“You are a young man, let me have your saddle and you ride on my heavy buggy rug.” I did and Uncle
Steve, Cull Maupin, Whit Lewis and I pulled out for Pine Woods. We had about one mile to ride. As
soon as we hit the woods, here they came. Seven hounds were running the fox and only five hounds
had run all night. Here are the fie hounds: Rome Terrill’s Red Molley, that jumped the fox before
sundown, Ed Walker’s Mont, W.S. Million’s Emma, and John Park’s Champion Fitz and Mary Jane.
I rode up the road to see them cross and saw Rome Terrill’s Red Molley come to the crooked rail
fence and make two attempts to jump it but she was so weak she couldn’t make it and just laid down.
We rode on up the road and found Park’s Mary Jane where she had fallen in the road. This left Mont,
Champion Fitz and Emma, still trying to follow the John Illinois bitch and Whit Lewis’ pup. The fox had
gone back to the brushes so we rode back down the road and stopped and heard the Illinois bitch
and pup coming. The fox had jumped in the road and crossed so they ran on for about a mile and
hushed, but they caught the fox as we found out later. This ended the gamest and best running fox I
ever heard hounds put after. What happened to Mont, Champion Fitz and Emma on Brushy Knob, I
don’t know but suppose like the rest, run to death. Here are the last five hounds seen running and
how they were bred:
Ed Walker’s Mont, sired by Black Joe ex Lill Aldridge. He was never owned by anyone else.
W. S. Million’s Emma, sire by Caperton Jarret ex Bennett’s Lady. Emma is the grandmother of Million’s
Scott.
Rome Terrill’s Red Molley, sired by Park’s Frank ex Terrill’s Ready. She was never the same hound
after this race.
John Park’s Champion Fitz, sired by Park’s Frank ex Icy. She was line bred as she was sired by Arp
and Ailsie. They were littermates.
John Park’s Mary Jane, sired by Park’s Frank and Alex Parrish’s Flirt and bred by Alex Parrish.
There wasn’t a hound that started in this race that finished. So you see, Terrill’s Red Molley and Park’
s Mary Jane and Champion Fitz were all three sired by Park’s Frank and Frank sired by Ed Walker’s
Don and out of Park’s Stella. Frank was one of the best, and absolutely dead game and a great sire
but got killed in his prime running days coming in from an all night race. A train caught him on a
bridge at Paint Lick, Kentucky. What I saw Park’s Frank do after this same bad fox at Log Cabin School
House: We had run all night and a dog killing race so at 7:30 or 8 a.m. we hunters rode down the road
to see them cross. There were about twenty hounds came to the road running. We were there on the
crossing on our horses and every hound stopped; only Park’s Frank was the only one trying to find
the fox. We were standing on our horses watching the hounds so George Young turned sideways on
his saddle, had his feet resting on a rail fence. All at once he said, “Here sits the fox in the fence
corner.” He slipped down off of his horse, tried to catch the fox but the fox jumped up and started
and here is where the race set in between man and fox, right in open grass bottom. He was reaching
and trying to get hold of the fox’s tail. The fox and hound were run to death and there wasn’t a hound
ever left us after a fox except Park’s Frank but George Young had more speed than Frank but he
couldn’t last. This taught me to stay off the crossing after the hounds had run all night.
I am writing this race for Woods Walker as he came to my house and asked me to write it. I promised
to try five months ago. Every time I see Woods he asks me about it. Sorry Woods couldn’t have been
with us, but why he wasn’t, he was expecting a baby at his place. On this hunt there were 25 hunters,
all passed away except W. S. Million and myself; gone down the river where no man has ever known
to return. These were a great bunch of hunters and had foxhunting at heart. They were all dear to me
and I loved them from the bottom of my heart. The best days of my life were spent with those hunters
on night and day hunts and the pleasure being with them when we met. It makes a man feel mighty
blue to think of all these great hunters that were on the hunt. It brings back memories of those great
hunters I loved. I couldn’t hold back my tears, so I had to go to my room and have a good cry. I always
said if I ever had my life to live over I would still be a fox hunter.
Best wishes to my friends.