Wilderness Champion

WILDERNESS CHAMPION by Joseph Wharton Lippincott When Johnny lost the best hound pup of the litter on the trail leading to his ranger’s cabin high in the Alberta peaks, he almost gave up hope of finding it; but in a year there began to be rumors of a huge red hound who traveled in the sinister company of the black leader of the wolves. Then a wilderness adventure brought the hound back to his master, and his dog heritage held; Reddy became a man’s dog and the greatest hunting hound in the whole north country. His fame spread and the reader follows his career with mounting enthusiasm as the scene shifts to Wyoming and Reddy’s encounters with coyotes, mountain lions, and grizzlies; and still farther south to the swamps and sand hills of Florida where the hound at length proves himself champion in fox hound Field Trials. Then follows the dog’s main test—and his master’s—and the dramatic and satisfying climax of the tale, once more in the wilderness among the wolves. This is a great story of a man’s life and a dog’s, bound together by strange ties of love and loyalty. It is a story charged with emotion, yet the author is completely faithful to true dog character and achievement, which he knows well. He has been master of the Huntingdon Valley Hunt and of the Oak Hill Beagles and has made big-game hunting trips into Alaska, Canada, Mexico and many parts of the United States and Europe. Readers of THE WOLF KING will look confidently to this book for a rare treat. It has strong appeal for young people and for dog lovers of all ages. Paul Bransom’s fine drawings add beauty and importance to a distinguished text.

WILDERNESS CHAMPION THE STORY OF A GREAT HOUND by J o s e p h W h a r t o n L i p p i n c o t t

Illustrated by Paul Bransom

J.

B.

LIPPINCOTT

COMPANY

PHIL ADELPHIA • NEW YORK • LONDON

COPYRIGHT 1944, RENEWED 1972 PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA trade edition isbn-0-397-30099-9 llb edition isbn-0-397-31320-9

Books by Joseph Wharton Lippincott The Wolf King Animal Neighbors of the Countryside Chisel-Tooth, TThe Beaver The Red Road Pony and others

TO BETSY

Illustrations PAGE

His hopes rose and he went forward to make friends.

19

Grimly they fought in the snow.

34-35

Very much aloof sat the black wolf.

42-43

The caribou’s antlers were still covered with velvet, but he swung them about in furious threats.

51

Only the fact that one front leg was also in the noose saved him.

59

Every hair on his back bristling, teeth bared, he walked deliberately forward. The big bear had been chased and harried until unable to go any farther.

96-97 125

The long notes of his steady baying carried through the glades as he chased the old buck.

134-135

He was across almost in almost no time.

172-173

It was the lond sad call.

183

Contents 1 LOST PUP

9

2 WILDERNESS FRIENDSHIP

15

3 THE FIRST BATTLE

22

4 REDDY GROWS UP

30

5 “I’LL TAME HIM!”

38

6 NOTHING TO FEAR

47

7 SPRIGING THE TRAP

56

8 A PACK HUNTS

66

9 THE CABIN ON THE RIDGE

74

10 WYOMING ADVENTURE

83

11 MOUNTAIN LION

92

12 ONE AGAINST A PACK

102

13 THE CALL TO THE WILD

111

14 THE GRIZZLY

121

15 EVERGLADES ADVENTURE

128

16 THE FOX HOUND FIELD TRIALS

140

17 MAY THE BEST WIN

151

18 THE FIRST LOYALTY

161

19 ON THE TRAIL OF THE KING

168

20 LAST STAND OF THE WOLF

176

21 A MAN AND HIS DOG

186

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CHAPTER ONE

Lost Pup >>>>>>>>