The Montgomery advertiser., 1901-12-13
HUMAN BLOODHOUNDS
THE AUSTRALIAN ABORIGINALS
 ARE HARD TO ELUDE.
Man Hunts in the Bush-Extra- ordinary Pursuit and Capture of
 Spanish Invaders.

San Francisco Examiner.
 When a man commits a crime in Aus tralia he knows that his chances for es- cape are hopeless if "tracker' IS put upon his trail within twenty-four hours thereafter. A tracker Is native black man, one of tribe endowed with mar velous instinct which enables them to run down to his hiding place any crimi- nal fleeing from justice. These men are literally known as bloodhounds, and their strange power is possessed by no other race of people in the world.
 It has been my good fortune to follow
 a man hunt with these trackers on several occasions. not as an official, but as a participant in adventure. l say 1t has been my good fortune because
 the experience of trailing with human
 bIoodhounds Is about as interesting,
 unusual and exciting a one as can be imagined
 Once2 given the scent, tracker will
 pursue and discover his game with never
 failing success, unless the criminal has
 had sufficient start to enable him to put to sea, in which case the black man can only follow him to the waters edge.
 The peculiar power of the black detec- tives was first discovered by the white surveyors in the antipodes through their extraordinary success in locating lost per-
 sons in the bush An unerring instinct, coupled with inexplicably keen judgment,
 made 1t possible for them to take up
 trail and follow it until the lost man
 was found, dead or alive, even though
 the journey led through forests where the black pursuer never had been. Their
 usefulness as trackers of criminals was
 thus suggested, and they have since prov ed themselves invaluable to the police. So implicit is the confidence felt in them that when a black starts out on a man
 hunt the officer who accompanies him
 merely follows in his wake leading his
 own horse ,and does not question him or in any way interfere with him, no mat
 ter in what direction the guide may go, or
 how apparently reasonless or futile his
 methods. The officer knows that the
 simple-minded aborigine possesses a cum
 ming and sense of divination superior to his own trained intelligence. and so keeps a respectful silence.
 The most expert trackers are found in
 the State of Queensland. near the borders of New South Wales. They are | animated by no feeling of vengeance to-
 ward their quarry, and will travel faith fully for any number of miles, intent upon their task and unmindful of any obstacles of danger seeming to take de- | light in the accomplishment of their ob- Ject and asking a reward ridlculously out of proportion to their labor-a few shil-
 lings, some tobacco or gewgaws suf- ficiSg them. Of the value of money they
 have no conception. Rum is their weak
 ness. l have known of a tracker em-
 ployed to locate certain valuable trees
 for timber man travelling forty miles
 through a forest so dense that he had
 to cut his way with tomahawk Ca neces-
 sary weapon down there for explorers)
 and being content with a reward of
 bottle of rum, while the timber man
 realized $450 from the sale of the tree.
 They are submissive, courageous and
 alert. Their knowledge of English is very
 imperfect, few broken words. signs and
 gestures conveying their meaning. My first man hunt was with Charlie, a splendid specimen of aboriginal symme- try and muscular development. His eyes
 were large, black and dreamy, but bril- | liant when aroused to the business of tracking. His general appearance was
 somewhat like that of a negro, his com | plexion and skin totally black, showing
 tinge of copper in the sun. His fine, | strong, white teeth seemed capable of | assisting him to devour any sort of wild
 game. The usual loin garment of kanga-
 roo skin he had discarded for a covering | of light cotton cloth provided by the | police. He led a horse for use in getting
 over the ground quickly in the open | country, where the footprints of the fu- | gitive are usually distinct enough to | follow on horseback.
 | l had business that took me to the | Queensland border en route through the | Nightcap Mountains, and was looking | forward with little pleasure to the loneli-
 ness of the trip when I was overtaken
 by an officer and Charlie Ike myself | on horseback, the officer having some
 wrist jewelry and a warrant for the ap-
 prehension of a cattle stealer. Now, cattle | stealing in Australia Is serious offense, ! the cattle laws there being most strict. | The offender had two days start of his | pursuers and was known to be a well
 seasoned bush man. who would resort to | considerable cunning to elude capture, | being thoroughly familiar with the meth
 Ods of the trackers. This made the chase
 the more exciting.
 l Charlie had struck the trail some fifteen
 miles back. I was glad enough to be | given permission to accompany them. I l know all the trails myself having been
 over the ground pretty thoroughly from | point to point, but it is dull riding alone 1 in that country, with no sounds to break
 the depressing silence but the whistle of | the "coachman." bird whose note is | so like the sound of the cracking of a
 whip that one could declare team was | about to appear in the road; or the bell | bird in the topmost tree branches or | the Laughing jackass, a strange bird | that mocks one from overhead with a
 startlingly natural sound of derision that
 echoes far into the wood. Then, too, the trails are deceptive, many times leading | to a deserted wood camp, beneath foli- l age so dense that 1t is impossible to catch even glimpse of the sky.
 There was comparatively little difficult | ty for Charlie in keeping to the track of
 the fugitive the next eighteen miles, aI- 1 though for at least half that distance
 neither the officer nor myself could dis
 cern anything that looked like an imprint. We conversed but little. and then in low | tones, that we might not divert Charlie's s attention or disturb his medltations | Not once did the black raise his eyes | from the ground. Several times he dis mounted and examined the earth closely, pausing for some minutes before going
 forward, as though to get his bearings 1 from other senses than that of sight. l Darkness closes in very quickly in the | mountain regions, and by nighuall we were glad to reach an 'accommodatlon | house. or selector's trancher'sp home, | where travellers are usually allowed to | put up for the night. Here the ofhcer | tried to get some information of his man | but no one had seen him. At dayhBuI