Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1899-08-05
TRAINING BLOODHOUNDS
How They Are Taught to Take and Follow
Trail
Have Been Used aS Man-Hunters fl
the South for Mere Than
Fifty Years.

From the Chicago Record.
For fifty years bloodhounds have been
trained In the south for man-hunters. Be-
fore the war nearly all of the larger plan
tatiens had bloodhounds trained to pursue
runaway slaves. In some cases plantation
owners would club together and purchase a
pack. Many white men in the south made
it business to train dogs especially for
this purpose, and accompanied them when
they were needed for chase" Since the
war the, value Of the hound is so well
known in following escaped criminals that
today halfbreeds are almost as numerous
as the others were thirty years ago, al
though many were killed by Union soldiers
and negroes during the war.
Dog fanciers say that probably not twen-
ty-ffve pure blooded dogs of this breed can
be found in the United States at present
The first Of their kind came from the north
of England near the Scotch boundary line
According to old English records, they were
not used for sporting purposes. but kept
about the house as pets in the families OF
the nobility because of their courage and
docility. The real bloodhound is anything
but a savage and vicious brute in his ordi-
nary condition. When aroused, however
he will attack man or beast with a ferocity
which is equaled by no other breed He
never gives up as long life lasts, and it
is either death to himself or the object of
his attack. The savage side of the dog Is
aroused by resistance. and he viii seldom
bite any one who does not offer 1t, unless
influenced by the scent of blood The ne
groes in the slave days were well aware OF
the trait, and frequently when run down a
darkey would throw himself full length on
the ground and remain motionless. The
dogs would come up, and, standing around,
would bay until the pursuing party reached
the fugitive. Many a runaway. however,
met his death in endeavoring to strangie
the dogs or beat them off with club.
The hounds of the pure species have an
unusually long and narrow forehead with
eyes very large and soft, and color of ID
dark tan or fawn. They slightly smaller
than The liver pointer" standing about
two feet above the ground. Their legs are
short but powerful and they are not swift
running dogs, but their scent is wonderful.
The manner of breaking them is to select
stretch of country about mile long
with one two small thickets on the
course A negro boy puts a pair of
brogans, the soles of which have been rub
bed with blood from chicken. He is given
start of twenty minutes. At the end of
this time the animal is loosed. The trainer
puts his nose to the spot where the negro
started. and he is ON the scent in a sec
ond, going at full speed across the country.
In the thicket he may be puzzled, but in a
few moments he strikes the trail again
and, baying, indicates that he has found
the fugitive. The scent is best early in the
morning, before the sun has dried the dew
on the ground, the moisture seems to
hold the odor better
After a few trials the dog follows the
negro simply by the odor of his feet. Then
course is laid out which is more difficult
Several streams Of water are crossed, and n
start is taken during hot day, four or five
hours after the supposed fugitive has gone
over the ground. From one mile the course
is heightened to five. The dog may take
half day TO complete it. as when he reaches
waterway he has to run up and down
each bank until he finds where the negro
entered the water and emerged. But his
wonderful nose constantly moving over the
ground, usually proves an unerring guide
and seldom is he thrown Off more than
half an hour A few months of this cours-
irg and the bloodhound is ready to act as
detective-one which cannot be bribed
A mixture of the setter, pointer or some
other breed of hunting dog with the blood
hound type answers for man hunting about
as we'll as the pure breed. and the dogs
thus obtained are much cheaper. Many
are owned by country officers and carefully
guarded, as criminals do not hesitate to
poison them whenever possible. When
crime has been committed the nearest dogs
are sent for. The animals beat around the
premises where the crime has been com
mitted, like a pointer hunting for a par
fridge.
Some four or five hours may elapse be-
fore the dogs take the trail They Wors,
around in a constantly widening circle I'M.
til they find it. Then they are like pack
after fox, and the pursuers must whip
up their horses to keep track of them If
the trail is fresh. The outlaws in the
southern states are well aware of the
keennesS of the pursuers, and try every
way to throw them off. They swim creeks
go through marshes, run on stones as
much as possible, for the hardness of the
surface causes it to retain but a very
slight odor, unless wet.
Dogs used for man hunting for a term
of years are not easily thrown off the
trail at the banks of a stream They jump
in and swim over, running up and down
the opposite side until they have found
the spot where the fugitive has come out
of the water. When four or five dogs are
in pursuit and the scent is lost, each takes
up certain area and covers it thoroughly
until the odor is again detected, when the
pack start away together. They can fol-
low 1t through swamps, where the water
is two and three feet deep, by shifting the
marsh grass and the trunks of trees which
they pass. The most difficult obstacle is
dry sand If a fugitive can find a stretch
of this half a mile in width he is in a fair
way to escape. for as the impressions OF
his footsteps are left in the soft material
they Immediately filled up with fresh
sand, and much of the scent is obliterated.