Here in Virginia (not Appalachia - but in the countryside around Richmond)- when I was a kid my dad would go "fox hunting". I begged and begged him to take me with him. One time he put me and my brother in the back of the old pickup truck (yes, they did that back in those days - no carseats) and took us to the "fox hunt". It was pretty much as Rapaire described, except the old geezers just sat around the fire drinking and listening to the dogs chase the fox - trying to guess where he was by the sound. They actually had a fox in a croker sack which they took out and let loose before letting the dogs out - to give him a head start. For all I know he may have gotten away. I guess that would be the poor folks version of fox hunting - some of the wealthier folks in Virginia still "ride to the hounds".