Frostburg mining journal. [volume] (Frostburg, Md.) 1871-1913, 1891-11-07
iNiAU iiUAI~nu> III i.N.
,.yW AND WHERE THOSE "GLOOD-
ri RSTY" ANIMALS ARE TRAINED.

.f the Ecroci"us BInodh o"nd> Thn:
'sunanrc He's Painted Them E""-
H.b Eorhounds Used In the th">"
for Convicts Some of Their Char
ncteristics.
In the Southern States hundreds of
iminals who would otherwise escapr
e captured and brought TO justice by
,e aid of keen scented hounds. There
#r,, lanty Of man hunting dogs in the
,uth to-day, but they are not blood
uunds. The dogs taught to trail men,
stead of being fierce brutes that will
ar man to pieces, are only ordinary
l,xhounds of such little courage that
slnall boy or pugnacious rat terrier
could put a whole p ok of them to flight,
Some OF the rich + IL lish gentlemen who
settled in irginia b,, re- the Revolution
brought over with them some pure
binoded foxhounds. When these gentle
ln'n and their sons and grandsons be-
came the owners of hundreds of slaves
they found it necessary to devise some
way to capture those who were con
stantly running away. In this emer-
scncv the idea Of turning the keen scent
If their foxhounds to a valuable use oc-
curred to them. Pups were taken away
from the kennels and never allowed to
ion in the practi e chase after a fox skin
dragged through the fields 10y colored
boy.
Instead they were taught to follow the
trail of the boy wihout the fox skin. In
this way they leaI ed that the only game
they were expected TO run to earth was
the runaway slave. These trained slave
hunters were found to be very valuable,
and the business of breeding and train
ing them grew until it extended all over
the slave holding States. The man hunt
ing dogs of to day are descended from
these English foxhounds. They are small
and slender, with keen limbs and long
ears. In color they are mostly red, black,
and white the three oolors being about
equally divided, usually in small, but
sometimes in large 'ots.
In most of the Southern States the
State and county convicts are leased or
hired to contractors for various kinds of
work outside the walls of the prisons.
The contractors are bound by heavy pen
altics to prevent their escape AS they
are often moved from one place to an
other, the contractors can not afford the
expense of building strong prisons, so
trust to the watchfulness of guards to
prevent escapes, and keep few trained
dogs to trail down the few prisoners who
10 succeed in eluding the vigilance of
their keepers.
AT the Pratt coal mines, near Birming
ham, Ala, 500 to 1000 State convicts
are worked by the company operating
the mines. This company has the larg-
est and best trained pack of man hunt
ing dogs to be found in the United States.
The big kennel is located near the wooden
prison, and a reliable and experienced
man is paid large salary to devote his
entire time and attention to the care and
training of the dogs. While they are
kept to hunt convicts only, the officers
of the company never refuse to loan the
dogs to the local authorities to trail down
desperate criminals.
The method of training the dogs is a
simple one, but they require constant
and careful attention. The most i'm
portant part of their training is never
to allow them to run at large where
there is any chance for them to scent
four footed game. A convict who can
be trusted not to take advantage of the
temporary liberty is used il the process
of training. A number of pups are taken
ont of the kennels with one or more old
dogs to lead them. The liberated con-
vict is then started off on run while the
pups are held back until he is out of
sight Then they are released, and with
The old dog to find the trail and lead
them, they are off at full cry. The
chase continues until the convict is tired
out.
He then stops, the pups come up with
him, followed by the keepers, and by
giving them some extra nice food they
are made to understand that they have
done their duty. This is kept up until
the pups are at least year old before
they are ever put in a regular chase with
the old dogs Every time they are taken
out for trial run the start given the
convict is increased until the pups learn
to find and follow a cold trail A start
lowed up before the young dogs can be
depended on for real work. Any am
bilious young pup caught running off
on the trail of rabbit or other game is
at once called in and tiogged.
When a dog is well trained he will
never under any circumstances follow
any except the human trail. Instead Of
being fierce creatures taught to tear their
game to pieces, these dogs when they
overtake runaway simply run around
him in a circle, keeping at safe distance
until the guards come up. As soon as the
prisoner is secured they lie down and take
no further interest in the game they have
lrailed so pcrsistently. No matter how
large the pack may be they never attack
a man, but keep up an incessant baying
that tells the pursuing guards that the
chase is ended.
The keen scent of these dogs is wonder
full. If the ground is damp and the at
nosphere moist they can follow trail
10 or l2 hours old. If it is dry or raining
a trail four to seven hours old is all they
can be depended on to follow. Once
started ON the right trail they never make
a mistake, unless the fugitive takes to
water and follows it for great distance.
In this way he may throw them off the
scent, but in no other They will follow
man for hours through the crowded
streets of city, into house after house,
cross the tracks of thousands of other
men, and never lose the original trail.