Daily press. [volume] (Newport News, Va.) 1896-current, 1898-03-13
CUBAN ~BLOODHOUNDS
THEY WERE USED IN THE SOUTH
TO HUNT RUNAWAY SLAVES.

Gifted with IL Remarkable Instinct Tor
TracISinE-Thcy DO Not bay Like tina
English HI"unds-Thny Are Now Used to
Pursue Escaped C"nvicts.
The first Cuban b~loodhounds landed
upon this continent were imported two
hundred years ago by spanish Planters
OF Louisiana, then Spanish territory.
we all know what the Ions were about
100. Negroes were cheaper then, and
II a slave gave trouble it did not much
matter that the ~bloodhound's hold up-
on MS throat was broken only by the
tearing of the flesh and tendons Many
times i'll those days the fugitive negro
did not live after his capture. If he
succeeded in gaining a tree, his olive
skinned masters shot him out as they
"culG a squirrel. Il Sn the ground
when caught the dogs killed him,
sometimes before the arrival of the
h~orsemen. who had ridden hard to be
in at the death.
The Cuban hound was q valuable doa
ana he was well treated. In some OF
tile Old court records Of Louisiana are
bills OF sale Of him.. In instances the
- GIL dS hlSu as SSoJ Il pair. i u.s.
breed spread all through the south, al
though | have never heard of the dogs
being used as man hunters in the up
per tier OF southern states.
AS a matter of course, the planters
OF this century were careful to protect
their slaves as far as possible from at.
lacks by the animals. This was gem
orally easy. The runaway slave inva-
rlably made for the swamp at the back
OF the plantation. 1t contained many
streams and !agoons, which aided him
in throwing the dogs off the scent.
The bloodhound is now used only
In the pursuit Of criminals. Every
southern penitcntiary has a brace or
more Of them. They are not ~infrequent-
~ a part of the shcriff's outfit. The
breed is not always pure, but the dogs
serve their purpose better than fairly
we'll. Their keenness of scent is one
OF the most remarkable things in ma
ture, though it is of value chiefly in
h more thinly settled regions. It
seems incredible that the mere tempo
rIry pressure Of a mans boot or shoe
upon the ground should leave a trace
able scent for twenty-four hours, pro-
Vldlng that there has been no rain.
but there is no doubt that it does.
Sometimes in the south a murderer
breaks Jail. Until the universal in.
PRODUCTION of chilled steel cages this
was not a difficult matter. Dogs ara
t~elesraphed for at a distarc HaDbably
OF $50 miles. They arrive a day after
the escape They are led in leash ia
the point where the criminal is SIM
posed to have made his exit and uncou-
pied. They take up the scent Instant
~ and follow it rapidly. The man must
nave crossed much water or confused
ms trail with the hurrying footsteps
or dozens of Others to throw them off.
Always ~supposing that twenty-four
hours is the extreme limit of law"
allowed the fugitive, the bloodhounds
are the best means of effec1ing his
capture. Having far to travel, they
do not bay. They have no breath tc
waste.
The English bloodhound, or the
Bloodhound of the continent for that
matter, not only bays, but has a re-
markable sonorous and beautiful voice.
lie opens, as it is technically term
ed, upon a cold trail and keeps IL nm
until the quarry is sighted or run
down.
lie is OF great size. with deep chest,
powerful shoulders, massive he,d
dropping Jaws and long ears, a remark
aoiy sagaclous and affectionate animal.
courageous. though not especially saw
age, and II of the best friends man
ever had. This hound is known in the
old prints as the .sleuth" hound or
slot hound, taken from the old
Sieuth or "slot'-otherwise 'traiI'-
OF the deer. He is called the blood
hound. not because he is particularly
fohd or blood as a matter of diet. bDt
because, havlng once found the blood
tEall of a wounded animal, he follows
1t with wonderful stanchness.
The English bloodhound is not used
IN the south. The dog there is the
cuban bloodhound. He differs mate
rally from his English cousin. He Is
larger. iercer n swifter, with mora
CT a bulldog cut about the head. Ea
is probably a descendant of a bun
cross. He is invariably mute until his
quarry is sighted. Almost any dog
VIII give tongue when he comes within
view OF the object of his pursuit after
a long chase. This dog is not a snap-
per, as is the English. He is a pin
nlng dog, which comes probably from
his bull strain. Once his teeth are
leaked, they can be disengaged only by
cas- ingenious method of grasping his
aoatriis Il shutting off his breath.
CamDhOr Trees in Florida.
OF a number OF camphor trees set
out in a public park in Tallahassee,
Fla, a few years ago. some are now