The Central Glamorgan Gazette, and General, Commercial, and Agricultural Advertiser. — 1888-10-12 (Bridgend, Mid Glamorgan, Wales)

THE USE OF BLOODHOUNDS. Some correspoudenee which passed a few months since tetween two dog breeders in Texas, with reference te the rearing and training of bloodhounds, Las been forwarded to the Central News, as bearing upon the pi oposal to e:nploy hounds in tracking the Whitechapel murderer. One of these correspondents is a police officer living at Galveston, who has not only bad wide experience in breeding dogs, but has used them largely in tracking criminals or escaped prisoners from the State penitentiaries. This man states that his dogs, which are a cross between the Cuban bloodhound and the Texas hound, will trail a man forty hours after he is gone from the spot whence tin y start. He instanced the case of a negro who was pursued for wrecking a passenger train. The miscreant was tracked for more than iorty miles,twenty of which he had ridden on horseback, and was then caught by the hound. Another instance given by the same writer is that of the papture of some fugitives from the Huntsmoor Penitentiary, who , were followed by two tried hounds and caught after an ex& ing pursuit over 217 miles of country. A trial scent laid by the same owner is described. He started a man at eleven o'clock one morning in the west end. of Galveston City, instructing him to travel till half-past three. At four o'clock two young hounds were slipped on his track. There was horiteracing going on some three miles from tho city, and from three to four hundred people were in attendance. The man who laid the scent stopped about an hour at the racecourse, and then got into a buggy and rode home. At six o'clock the dogs found him upstairs in a stable. The other correspondent, who lives at Pi.elps, Walker County, Texas, says he has handled a pack of dzga for tracking criminals for twenty years. They are savage dogs, some of them being a cross between a bloodhound and a deer or foxhound. These creatures would trail a man after he had gone forty or fifty hours. They ran some men once from Sunday evening till noon on Tuesday. Some of these dogs would hunt their prey out of a crowd of fifty persons. Sir Charles Warren, it is stated, witnessed a private trial of bloodhounds in one of the London parks early on Tuesdai morning. The hounds are the property of Mr. Ldwin Brough, of Wyndyate, near Scarborough. On the 4th inst. Mr. Brough was communicated with by the metropolitan police as to the utility of cinploying'bjoodhouuds to track criminals, and the correspondence resulted in that gentleman proceeding to London on Saturday evening, bringing with him two magnificent animals named Baruauy and Burgho. At the Warwick Dog Show two years ago Barnaby divided with Mr. Wright's Hector U. the Castle Park Stakes for single hounds. Mr. Brough tried Bamaby and n iiiiiia Bur ho in Regent's Park at seven o'clock on Monday mo . The ground was thickly coated with hoar frost;' t they did their work well, successfully tracking for nearly a mile a young; man who was given about fifteen minutes' law. They were tried again in Hyde Park on Monday night. It was of course dark, and the dogs were hunted in a leash, as would be the case if they were employedin Whitechapel. They were again successful in performing their allotted task, and at seven o'clock on Tuesday , morning a trial took place before Sir Chas. Warren. To all appearances the morning was a much better one for scenting purposes than was the case on Monday, but the contrary proved to be the case. In all half a dozen runs were made, Sir Chas. Warren in two instances acting as the hunted man. In every instance the dogs hunted persons who were complete strangers to them, and occasionally the trail would be crossed. When this happened the hounds were temporarily checked, but either one or the other would pick up the trail again. In one of the longest courses the hounds were checked on half the distance. Burgh° ran back, but Barnaby, making a fresh cast forward, recovered the trail, and ran the quarry home. The hound did this entirely nnaided by his master, who thought that he was on the wrong track, but left him to his own devices. In consequence of the cold on Tuesday morning, the hounds worked very slowly, but they demonstrated the possibility of tracking complete strangers on to whose trail they had been laid. The Chief Commissioner seemed pleased with the result of the trials, though he did not express any definite opinion on the subject to those present.