THE TRUTH ABOUT BLOODHOUNDS.

Press, Volume XLV, Issue 7215, 28 November 1888, Page 5

THE TRUTH ABOUT BLOODHOUNDS.

The suggestion tJaakWoedhawnde etronld toe employ-fed to J track the Wh tteohajJol hittrtfi*&r''tiluHeKCo ti goM- deAl ,s of : 'di4V«i«Mon. lii thfe lingHfeh papers iaMut Percy I*lu«Uoy, a >iwell»fcnown breeder, writes as follows :— nonsense Is bethg jaet" now about the bloodhound and his ÜBB in thß detection of crime. Credited witb a toOrbUHneatiable craving for blood, it la said to have a. savage and ferocious batuire* Which fc&ke* It a* dangerous to 'frtend as to felon. The plain tact is Ibsfi the c averfcge bloodhound of to-day Iβ a dbcite; gentle, faithful creature of high, toervftfi* temperament, but singularly free fW«A 'Vice, , And particularly suitable as a reiWtWe playmate for children. The bloodJtouna , does-not crave for blood. He Iβ Content with each Spartan fare as Spratt'a biecuits and tlie water-trough afford* The kGett fecetit, quick intelligence, patience, feed power of concentration found in a well-bred, highly-trained bloodhtrttud—td «ay toothing of hia Rood I66ks — have made film the hero <Of much harmless romance. The bloodttottnd, for instance, Iβ credited with having} tracked down Fifth, the Blackbnt-n tourderet, goodnees knows how long after the deed. The uog which did assist, in the remotest way, la Fish's capture wus not a bloodhound, but a dog of some mixed breed, lit did Border work—cheep stealing, slave hunting, and in all cases where ■the cotifiiK jiift of place and time have given Mie bloodhound a firir chance of following ftp Hre scent—he has done Rood, and sometimes astonishing, service. Bat the presence of blood is not essential to the fliicfcessTul tracking down of the<n»arry. M a Bound is to track men he must be trained specially for this clane of Work, «m the harrier for the nan*, the foxhound for the fox and the deerhound 'for the hai-t. Indeed, in old times the bloodhound was 'trained tor all these purposes. The first Lord Wolverton'e pack hunted either the red or fallow deer, I forget which. A well-known Northern breeder of blood* bounds to-day treats his hounds to an occaelooal outing by giving some needy and obliging tramp sixpence, hall .an hour's start, and aa assurance that the bound* ' won't hurt him. , The tramp Starts df At the top of hie speed, the hounds are cast offin half an hour or m>, and they find the tramp either up a tree or la the e.uictuary of a wayeide Inn Imbibing beer and emitting maledictions. That the exquisite ecent and splendid powers of the bloodhound could tie directed to the detection of crime in cities, after long, patient) and intelligent training, I have. litUe doubt. But is there a hound living that has had this training. If a country-trained hound were allowed to make caste iufftey High street, Whitechapel, I should to find It next tniuute in some innoconb butterjsiari'B .ihop, intent not upon Wβ nturdexvr, but ou the margarine it scedted from afar. The butterman mig'" t fall a aacrlftce to an infuriated crowd, and the day of the bloodhound would be done, , Ho desefves ft better fate than this. The, London police will find a good friend"in the bloodhound* given patience to train him in the way be should go." Recently .Sir Charles Warren witnessed a private trial of bloodhounds in one of the London Parks at an early hour In the morning. The hounds are the property of Mr Edwin Brough, of Wyndyate, near ScarbwrouKh, who for years pasb has devoted himself to bloodhound breeding. Ho was comovunicated with by the police, and came to London on Saturday ereaiog, bridcitut with him two Slue animals named • BarnibT and Burgho. Mr Brough toi«d botb oog* in. Kegen t's Fark at seven o'clock on Monday morninp. The. ground was thickly cojited with hoe.r frost, but they did their wos-k well, successfully tracking for ncariy a mile a youog man who was given about fifteen minutes law. They were tried again in. Hyde Park on Slonday luglit. It was, of tojree, dark, and the dogs were hunted in a leash, as ttould, be the case if they were employed in WhibechapeL They egtio successful in performing "*«"" ailoted Ufek, and at seven o'clock on Tuesday morning a trial took place before febe €hiet<Jtro)inlssioncr. Iv *i| baM a doaen rune were Jiiade, Sir Charles Unnen in Mert&edl nleaeed with tue result of U»e ffi,/ t&.u ß h lie did not express Wiy definite opinion oa the subject to tho»9 oreseiit. : ■: ; ■ • ■ ■ : ■-;