The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1890-03-21
Whit Eagle
The TONGUE OF TIE HOUND.

Noticeable Result of Cultivation that
Separates Hounds from Dogs.
The tongue of the foxhound, uttered as it
lie IN the wllds Of a hunting country, resound-
ing in the valleys, awakening the echoes in
the cliffs, Ginning over the uplands or max
ing the woodlands ring with music, far from
the madding crowd, away from the music
hall or stage play, Is one Of the most melodi-
Gus and spirit stirring strains that can be
heard in the world of sound. How came he
by this tuneful tongue! 1t is as distinct in
melody from the bark of dog as anything
well can be that is similar in its kind. We all
know that a hound is not dog, except as he
may be so classified by the zoologist. But
whence did this fine tongue Gomez
Darwin tells us that the dog never barked
before he was domestcated, and considering
that the fox is classified with the dog it is
rather surprising that he should say so, for
the fox in his wild state undoubtedly barks.
The bark Of fox is exactly that Of a small
terrier, though little shorter and not shrill
But whence did the fine tongue of the hound
Gomez Who says the English are not a
musical nationl Mr.. Barring Gould declares
that they are, but that their minstrels were
suppressed by Henry VIII and his stern
daughter Elizabeth. 1t is odd that the Eng
lish hound, alone of hounds, should have this
melodious tongue. The Basset hound has a
common bark, no better than a spaniel's, for
he is French; yet he is in personal appearance
very like the beagle Of Bewick's pencil, whose
tongue was melody itself. 1t must have been
of the beagle that Shakespeare wrote:
Their heads are hung
With ears that sweep away the morning dew:
Il I a. H.
Slow in pursuit but matched in mouth like bells
Each under each. A cry MORE tunable
Was never holla'd to. nor cheerd with horn.
There was a feeling for music in those days
Shakespeare was hunter, bred in the pur-
lieus Of the forest, and the charm of forest
music must have possessed him, for whose
verse was ever so musical as hisl How is it
that the Basset hound speaks the speech of a
common dog, and the beagle of old sang a
chant. How is it that the dachshund of
German origin talks like a dog, and the
beagle, barrier and foxhound intone their
praise Of nature? In the early days Of hunt
ing the stag or rather the hart-a name inn
properly gone out of use-was the chief beast
of the forest, and the pride, pomp and cir
Cumstance of the glorious chase attended his
taking and his death. But the hart was shot
by an arrow from the bow, and the stricken
deer was run down by OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES
at gaze
Why, let the stricken deer go weep,
The bart ungaed play.
To run a quarry with hounds having
tongues to proclaim the track of his foot was
an afterthought. and probably had its origin
in running the hare with beagIes. In the vast
forests Of Europe a line hunter on the scent
Of hor vo1,1i faa Lost IN aroy
nifty. 1t is in England alone that the culture,
which may be almost called cult, of this
hounds tongue could have grown into sort
of passion. And it is the much scorned fox
hunting squire of the last century, undeserv-
eddy scorned by the votaries of another cul-
ture different from his, whose fine taste may
be detected in the tongue of his hound, in his
old mansions, in his gardens, his parks, his
woods and in country life as it is followed in
England, who took pains TO produce the fox
hound
The hound has been bred by him for very
many generations. 1t must have been long
ago thar the hounds tongue took his fancy,
for no hound ever condescends to a common
bark now. Such vulgar thing must have
been bred out of him for generations on gen
erations In 50 called puppy shows nova
'
nels are judged on their merits in shape and
form, the tongue is not heard or judged any
more than the pace or hunting qualities can
be there judged. But 10 one for an instant
would doubt that the hound would have bis
or her tuneful tongue soon to be known to
tho huntsman's ear as surely as, or more sure
" than, the form, style and color are known
to his eve. The hounds tongue is a curious
fact and must have been the reward of care
full breeding, We say, N England, where |
heredity has been so much the guide of man,
to enchant the musical ear of musical ma
ton.
IN hunting it was a necessity that hounds |
should be heard, and that the tongues of the !
hounds should vary, that the huntsman |
should know the tongue Of truth from that |
of the youthful babbler, and go to it. 1t |
would seem that this wild and beautiful cry
from the woodlands has arisen partly from |
the necessities of the modern chase. but surely |
also from the musical instincts of the hunting |
man of England. Nimrod, in The Horse |
and the Hound, quotes AddisOn'S knight re-
turning a hound that had been given to him |
as an excellent bass - whereas the note he |
wanted was a counter tenor And this is a |
hint how the squires of bygone times valued |
the tongues Of their hounds. The variety of |
note in pack of foxhounds IS very great, but |
il is all musical, anc stirs the pirit of the man,
and even Of his horse, TO deeiS of daring that /
the fascinating cry may not die away in the /
distance and be lost TO him left in the rear. 49,
Saturday Review.