The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1898-01-28

wounded animal, he follows il with Won
derful stanchness. He win, in fact, unless
taken off by force follow it until he drops
and rising will stagger along until he
falls again. The only English bloSihounds
l have ever seen, outside Of a few stroll
ing Uncle Tom" theatrical companies
were kept merely as ornaments, and l do
not think that they would have been Of
value in chasing the deer
The English bloodhound Is not used in
the South. That is where Mrs. Stoves
error was made The dog there is the Gu
ban bloodhound. He differs materially
from his English cousin He is larger.
fiercer and swifter with more OF a bull
dog cut about his head. He is probable a
descendant of a bull cross. He is invaria-
bly, mute until his quarry is sighted Al
most any dog viii give tongue when he
comes in view of the object of his pursuit
after a long chase. This dog is not a snan-
per, as is the English He is a pinning dog
which comes probably from his bull strain.
once his teeth are locked they can be dis
engaged only by the ingenious method OF
grasping his nostrils and shutting off his
breath.
The first Cuban bloodhounds landed upon
this continent We're imported two hundred
years ago by Spanish planters in Loui-
siana. then Spanish territory We all
know what the dons were about 1900 Ne
gave trouble it did not much matter that
the bloodhound's hold upon his throat was
broken only by the tearing of the flesh and
tendons. Many times in those DAYS the
fugitive negro did not live after his can
ture. If he succeeded in gaining n tree
his olive skinned masters shot him out as
they would a squirrel. II on the ground
when caught the dogs killed him, some.
times before the arrival of the horsemen
who had ridden hard to he in at The death.
Inc Cuban hound was a valuable dog
ana he was well treated. In some Of the
old records of Louisiana are bills OF sale
OF MIN. In instances the price ran as high
as SSO0 pair. The breed spread all
through the South, although have never
heard of the dogs being used as man hunt
ers in the upper tier of Southern states. l
uoubt that one has ever seen laid upon
tne trail of negro in Virginia. North Car
DINA or Maryland
AS matter of course the planters of
tnis century were careful TO protect their
slaves as far as possible from attacks by
we ANIMALS. This was generally easy.
Inc runaway slave invariably made for
the swamp at the back of the plantation
II contained many streams and lagoons
winch aided him In throwing the dogs off
the scent. If the worst came to the worst
ne could always climb a tree. / have no
doubt that the ancient anecdote of the
gum Don't shoot, mister; I'm going to
come down." had its origin in some run
away hand" perched i'm a cypress and
gazing down at his irate master, but pre-
serving always the negro's sense of hui
NOR Indeed this story is loved and
generated IN every quarters south of
Mason and DiXon's line. and is ALWAYS
good for laugh. The planters care in
TINS matter was dictated more by policy
IMAM humanity. 1t did not, pay to have a
$1,000 negro chewed up by a $50 dog.
Inc bloodhound Is now used only in the
pursuit OF criminals Every Southern
penItentiary has brace or more Of them
They are not infrequently a part of the
sherins outfit. The breed IS not always
pure, but the dogs serve their purpose
better than fairly well. Their keenness
OF scent is one of the most remarka BILE
things in nature, though 1t is of value
chiefly in the more thinly settled region
1t seems incredible that the mere tempo
rary pressure of a mans boot or shoe up
on the ground should leave a traceable
scent for twenty-four hours, providing
that there has been no rain but there is
no doubt that il does. Sometimes in the
South murderer breaks jail. Until the
universal introduction of chilled steel
cages this was not difficult matter. Dogs
are telegraphed for at a distance prob
ably of $50 miles. They arrive a day after
the escape. They are led in leash to the
point where the criminal is supposed to
have made his exit and uncoupled. They
take up the scent instantly and follow IL
rapidly. The man must haye crossed
much water or confused his trail with the
hurrying footsteps of dozens of others to
throw them off. Always supposng that
twentyfour hours Is the extreme limit of
law allowed the fugitive. the blood
hounds are the best means Of effectlng his
capture Having far TO travel, they do
not bay. They have no breath 10 waste.