The palmetto herald. [volume] (Port Royal, S.C.) 1864-1864, 1864-08-18

conld have survived This discipline was
administered to them either with knot
ted whip, made of the hide of the wild
hog, or with the flat of the heavy sword.
The savage tenacity of these dogs,
when provoked, caused them to be re-
garded with great terror. When taken
out by their masters, they were kept
closely muzzlcd, to prevent accidents,
and people were generaly warned against
touching or speaking to them. One day,
a cazadOr had unmuZZled one OF his dogs,
to allow him to drink. While his at.en-'
ton was drawn away for moment the
animal, attracted by the smell OF meat,
ran to where an old woman was cooking
at fire in the open air. She threatened
him with stick, to drive him away,
whereupon he seized cher by the throat
and killed her before assistance came.
So tenacious was his grip that it was
found necessary to sever his head from
his body; nor even then did the rigid
muscles relax their hold, and the ghastly
head remained for some time affixed to
the neck of the unfortunate yictiM.
One of these caZadors possessed a
bloodhound of so headstrong and san.
culinary a disposition, that neither the
whip nor anything else had any effect
upon him. He was a dog of unusual
size and beauty, Oh which account his
owner was unwilling to destroy him; and
vet, unmindtul of the proverb, "Give a
dog bad name and hang him." he be-.
slowed upon the delinquent the appclla-
ton of Bergante, which is the Spanish
for '"scoundrel.' The principal objection
to Bergante was that he would always
kill whatever he had chance to hunt,
from wild pig to wild pirate, it hayf
ing proved impossible to correct his taste
for blood The only person who had any
control over him was q negro slave, be-,
longing to neighboring ecclesiastic, and
who was noted for exercising a sort of
magnetic power over animals. One day
this negro, having been cruelty beaten
by an overSecr tor some trivial misde-
mcanor ran away and hid himself in the
woods. Days elapsed, and the negro
had not returned; and by and by ru-
NOR came that he had joined a gang of
Spanish mutinccrs, who, after'killing the
captain and mate of: British brig, on
which they were employed as sailors,
had run the vessel ashore, and taken to
the woods. Dogs were ordered out to
hunt these criminals, and, as hot work
was expected by the cazadors, Bergante
the bloodhound was one of the animals
selected to perform the duty.
Deep in the jungle the hounds came
upon a trail. Their owners called them
all off, however, except Bergante, who
was let out of the slips, and went off upon
the track with great fury. His loud
mouthcd baying was heard for some time,
until it gradually died away into the dis
tance, and all was still. The hunters fol-
lowed, and other hounds were slipped
from time to time; but, after hunt OF
three days, nothing came of it. The
hounds came struggling in to their mas
ters, all except Bergante, who was sup
posed to have met more than his match,
and to have fallen by the weapons OF
some of the forest outlaws.
Several weeks had elapsed; when, as 4
cazador lay concealed one day among
some rocks in the heart of the forest, with
his hounds crouching by him, he heard
far away the well-known baying of Bcr-
gante the bloodhound: From the high
ground where he lay in ambush, the ca
zador commanded view of n deep glade
in the woods, toward which the cry of
the dog appeared to be tending. The
glade was but sparsely dotted with
shrubs, and On to it there presently