New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1890-12-14
MAINTAINING WITH HOUNDS
vAlNIY PURSUING A CONVICT IN FLORIDA
SWAMPS.

country riding in the crisp autumnal days, what
think YOU of chasing a man?
oh" saws my lady, we know all about that.
The man is Parker. our English groom, 1orsosth,
and he carries aniSe bag"
Not so. my gentle madam The man | mean
rides no cob but is as wild and iootsore as any
fox: the hunters armed and eager ana WIZ
do him DEATH if he turns To rend them; the pack
is in full cry. over hill and dale through forest
and lagoon and the chase Is for the ION ; @uerdol
life and liberty What think YOU of such sport
rs that One cannot indulge in ii every day.
The conditions must needs he favorable, but such
Is the case now and again in this pleasant wood
land country of Northern Florlda-thc County of
jefferson. described by the ouondam United States
Marshal Nizcll domain in which no officer OF
Uncle sam dare serve a warrant If Such IS the
case it is nevertheless the seat of concentrated
authority for here are located the great convict
camps Of the State. There are two IN JEFFERSON
County. Wcaunie. the headquarters, ana Scun",
a sidc-camp each a cluster oil rudc 10" pnlldihgS,
some two miles apart, standing IN the midst OF
a vast plantation that framed one OF those baron
ial estates Of the good old days "beio the wah
Monticello the county seat. Is fourteen miles away
as the flies.
Under the luch-talked-of Southern lease sys-
tom. where convicta are worked in the open air,
men will escape occasionally. There is no help
for it. Some desperate fellow is always watching
for an opportunity. and when il offers VIII risk
the Winchcstcrs Of the guards and dash for the
nearest swamp or woodland. Then the sport
begins One pleasant morning. not long ago.
convict "tr,ls'y" from Scufiie came GREATNESS
into the WeaUnie camp with the information
that such an event had taken place. He was
after Captain Powell the chief of the system, and
in a few hurried sentences he told how one Joe
Johnson. negro under a years sentence. had run
an hour or So before Captain Powell received
tho news calmly. He has not been in the bust
ness fourteen years for nothing. and il requires
more than an ordinary escape to upset his cQua-
nimity Saddle mule." he called TO one of
the convictS working about the yard and
taking down a horn from its place beneath =
she'd blew long. Staccato blast. Instantly
another note responded, melancholy. quiverinQ
bay: there was an eager scampcrng of feet, and
four foXhOunds came daShing ont OF an Enclosure
near at hand. There is popular impression that
cOnvicts nowadays and slaves in old times were
chased with boodhOundS, but this i great mis-
take 4 bloodhound is too costly and TOO deli
cate for such work under the hot southern sun:
be is neither quicl, enough nor keen enough Of
scent. and fox and deer hounds are invariably ON
ployed They do not attack The human game
when brought 10 bay. another genera error but
are guides only for horsemen that always follow
close behind and for that reason the foNhound Is
preferred. the deer hiund being TOO rapid for The
horses. too apt to get of sight in the heat of
the chase
OF the four hounds that responded 10 the D.
tain's horn. two were full-growE old trailers, and
two mere puppies, bat all of them knew what was
coming, and leapcd and bounded as eagerly IS
we-trained bird do- al the sight OF a spor'sma1'-
gun. Another animal. huge whit" bulldog.
into the saddle quietly TOOK his place by the stir.
rup. lie had no nose for a trail and he knew Il.
but he didn't want 10 miss the fun.
Five minutes hard calop and Scufle was
reached. where the huntsmen of human game were
gathered in an impatient group. The captain
laconic inquiries drew the fact that the con
Wet had been sent little distance for q plough
and had not returned Wien il became evident
that he had evan,ed the Scufile pack Of four
hounds essaycd 10 take the trail: bat. some
times occurs, for no assignablc reason, they were
unable 10 follow il, and ran hack yclping and
confused. Captain Powell. without waiting e.
debate the question, dug the rowes in his mule.
the rest Of the party following in a group that
soon became procession All armed. all
thrilled with the excitement Of tie chase. for The
slyest fox or hare that doubled on a track is
paltry game in comparison with man, neryed o.
all the strategy of desperation and strung 10 the
highest tension bv the hope of dclivcrancc from
bondage There IS smack Of danger about IL,
TOO. that adds rest 20 the adventure; for such
game as this is capable Of anything
Presently the spot was reached where tie
flight began, and the hounds that had run
steadily before Tire riders, shifted The air neryously
and then. with scarcely moments hesitation,
settled down - the long swinging trot that told
palmer than words tina, they had struck the trail
For ,a bai flpir reel,-
Necessary. Tor ne tracks Of the fugitive were
plainly discernibc in tie soft loan Of field he
crossed on the way = a thickly wooded, swampy
belt. a littlc distanc" away. Al the time the
man left the camp be was doubl" >hackled, rs
the prison phrase goes. That IS 10 say. his
ankle, were nanaclcd together with stout iron
chain. long enough for a short stride. but in some
way he had snapped link, and his footprints,
almost two yards apart, indicated the speed at
which he ran. There terror written i'll every
one Of those intagliOs
When the swamp was reached the tracks dis
appeared the quagmirc swallowed them up tut
II was powerlc,s 10 eface that mysterious cruyia
by which trained hound tracks lis prey, and
the animals kept night on ploughIng through the
dark water weeds tiOundcTIng through the mud,
swimming lagoons and scTamb.ing over fallen
tree trunks bat never once hesItatIn2 IN the pur-
suit The riders followed a, best they could,
skir;ing the more solid edges Of the swamp
wherever practicable. but now and then forced
INTO IFS recesses johnson ran we'll lie had
about ar hour and halls start, IL IS true, but II
j, terribly slow work for man 10 force passage
through one Of these sub-a4ueous tropical Jungles
His cours, trended 10 the southeast. and lay for
many miles within the limits Of the plantation.
How far ahead hc might be II was Impossible 10
say. and the pursucrs were stimulated by the
possibility that be might appear at any moment
AZ mile after mile rolled of behind them
Captain Powells steed must surely have Deem
a blood relation .: the lhuH'rlou' ihulo '''
Sheridan il said 10 have dashed to winchester
unor l,oe,s 70 tlc contrary notwithstanding, for