Sleuth-hound

“ And now the reinforced party reach the meet below the grey ivy-tangled rocks, and Solomon pulls up at the accustomed spot to give his hounds a roll, and let the Major receive the encomiums of the encircling field. Then there is a repetition of the kennel scene: “Lovely! Lovely! Lovely!—beautiful bitch that—Chaunter. Chaunter! Chaunter!—there’s a handsome hound—Bustler, good dog!” Only each man has his particular favourite or hound that he has either bred or walked, or knows the name of, and so most of the pack come in for more or less praise. ”

“ But now, of late, he is called by a new popular name, the Slouth-hound: Because, when as the people doe live in south and idlenesse, and neither by themselves, or by the office of a good herd, or by the strength of a good house, they do preserve their goods from the incursion of theeves and robbers, then have they recourse to the dog, for reparation of their slouth [14] . ”

“ The big, rusty hound, with long glistening hair and black muzzle, jumps up on the girl—with his front paws, stretching the chain tightly and rattling in the throat from shortness of breath, then, with back and tail undulating all over, bends his head down to the ground, wrinkles his nose, smiles, whines and sneezes from the excitement. ”

“ At a little after eight o’clock Murray and our hero started for the farmhouse and in due time arrived there. The man Herman was sitting on the piazza. He was a powerful fellow—a great ignorant lout, but undoubtedly, as the detective concluded, physically as strong as a horse, and a man just ignorant enough in a violent passion to kill a man. If there was a born murderer in appearance the fellow Herman was the man.
Murray and Ike approached the house. The hound had [121] been left under a hedge and as the two apparent tramps drew near Herman warned them off ”

“ The pack now in the kennel is as near perfection as can be attained for elk-hunting, comprising ten couple, most of whom are nearly thoroughbred fox-hounds, with a few couple of immense seizers, a cross between bloodhound and greyhound, and a couple of large wire-haired lurchers, like the Scotch deer-hound.
In describing the sport, I must be permitted to call up the spirits of a few heroes, who are now dead, and place them in the vacant places which they formerly occupied in the pack. ”

“ It is like a pack of hounds, running breast high, with the game in view. They are then running by sight, and not by scent, almost doubling their usual pace, and sometimes, from an unexpected turning of the fox or hare, thrown out for a little while. The hound soon recovers the track by his exquisite sense of smell. The English greyhound is never taught to scent his game, but, on the contrary, is called off the moment he has lost sight of the hare, the re-starting of which is left to the spaniel. ”

“ For the Choice of Hounds we are to rely much on their Colours, and accordingly make our Election. The Best and most Beautiful of all for a general Kennel, is, The White Hound, with black Ears, and a black spot at the setting on of the Tail, and is ever found to be both of good Scent, and good Condition, and will Hunt any Chace, but especially the Hare, Stag, Buck, Roe, or Otter, not sticking at Woods or Waters. ”

“ WHEN the ruby is raised, rest is there none;
But much rancour shall rise in river and plain,
Much sorrow is seen through a sluth hound,
That bears horns in his head like a wild hart:
Then a brock shall make a braid on a broad field,
And an hound shall bear a back with a brim face;
The slothful sluth hound shall slay him for ever ”

“ The hounds are slender, lean, wiry, with a long, pointed muzzle, and a peculiar sensibility in the sense of smell, and their instincts lead them to hunting and tracking. As a general thing, they are cowardly and indisposed to combat; there are, however, remarkable exceptions, as you will see if you read the account of the good black hound which Sir Walter Scott tells about in “The Talisman,”—a story which I advise you to read at your next leisure. The terriers are, for the most part, small dogs, smart, bright, and active, very intelligent, and capable of being taught many tricks. ”

“ Yet through the dark came drifting sounds that caught at him with clutching hands—the bay of a hound from some far-off kennel, the whirring note of frogs, the impatient high whinny of a horse across pasture-bars—and his nostrils widened to the wild braided fragrance of the fields over which the mist was spinning its fairy carded wool. ”

“ A moment’s delay for pleasant greetings between all and sundry, and the hounds are quickly thrown in for business; their tails, and little more, wave above the long ling and the tall bracken. The whips gallop to their points of observation. Presently a whimper or two is heard; then the deeper tone of an old hound takes it up; the rest rally about him, and soon the whole pack join in full chorus. A halloo is heard from a ride, as the fox crosses it ”

“ There are many, many fine riders in England who will not be denied in crossing a stiff country, and who at the same time are interested in the hounds and in the poetry of sport: men to whom the mysteries of scent and of woodcraft, as well as the breeding and management of hounds, are something more than a mere name: men who in after days recall with pleasure "how in glancing over the pack they have been gratified by the shining coat, the sparkling eye--sure symptoms of fitness for the fight;--how when thrown in to covert every hound has been hidden ”

“ With life full-beaming her vain wiles betrayed.
At distance draw thy pack, let all be hushed,
No clamour loud, no frantic joy be heard,
Lest the wild hound run gadding o'er the plain
Untractable, nor hear thy chiding voice.
Now gently put her off; see how direct
To her known mews she flies! Here, huntsman, bring
(But without hurry) all thy jolly hounds,
And calmly lay them in. ”

“ In most of our trials the hounds were put on the trail comparatively soon after the runner had passed over the course, but it must not be forgotten that they are equally successful in working what is termed a "cold scent"—one many hours old. In this respect they surpass all other breeds of hounds.
As I have already said, this power of scent is so subtle as to be almost uncanny. And it is as deep a mystery to those who have devoted a lifetime to hound breeding as to the ignorant layman. ”

“ These dogs, by their superior swiftness, are soon at his haunches, and worry and impede his flight, until their heavy friend the hound comes up; for the strongest greyhound could never manage a wolf, unless he was assisted in his meritorious work by dogs of large size and superior strength. The huntsmen, well mounted, follow and halloo on the hounds; every one runs, every one shouts, the forest echoes their cries, and wolf, dogs, and sportsmen pass and disappear like leaves in a whirlwind, or the demon hounds and huntsmen of the Hartz. ”

“ The head is most perfect when it closely resembles that of a bloodhound. It is long and narrow with heavy flues, prominent occiput, and forehead wrinkled to the eyes. The general appearance of the head should indicate high breeding and a reproachful dignity. The eyes show a kind expression and no haw is visible. Ears very long, so long that in hunting they will often actually tread on them, set on low, and hang loose in folds like drapery. Their texture is thin and velvety. Forelegs only about four inches long. Stern is carried hound fashion, coat short, fine, smooth and glossy. ”

“ With this exasperating feature of bear and lion chases I was familiar. Most hounds, when they struck a trail, could not tell in which direction the bear was traveling. A really fine hound, however, like Buffalo Jones' famous Don, or Scott Teague's Sampson or Haught's Old Dan, would grow suspicious of a scent that gradually cooled, and would eventually give it up. Young hounds would back-track game as far as possible. ”

“ Acquire an eye to hounds, that is, learn to detect the [170] moment when the leading hound turns right or left, or, losing the scent, checks, or, catching it breast high, races away mute, “dropping his stem as straight as a tobacco-pipe.”
By thus studying the leading hounds instead of racing against your neighbours’ horses, you see how they turn, save many an angle, and are ready to pull up the moment the hounds throw up their heads.
Never let your anxiety to be forward induce you to press upon the hounds when they are hunting; nothing makes a huntsman more angry, or spoils sport more. ”

“ The grey hounds are the swiftest of dogs and a pair of them are invariably to be found in a pack, the balance being some heavier and fiercer breed of dog, such as the blood hound, fox hound or a cross of the two. It is the grey hounds that run the game down and hold it until the arrival of the balance of the pack, the heavier dogs doing the actual fighting. ”

“ So hard a-dying are old prejudices that unto this day this noble hound, gentlest of his kind, is regarded with a kind of awe. Time after time have I known a lady pet and fondle one, with the the remark, "What a beautiful creature. What kind of dog is he?" and when she has heard the dread name she has recoiled in fear. It is useless to tell her that one rarely sees a bad tempered bloodhound, that they are the kindliest mannered gentlemen that ever walked. ”

“ He is a large hound, as he well needs to be, for the "varmint" who is his customary quarry is the wildest, most vicious, and, for its size, the most powerful of all British wild animals, the inveterate poacher of our salmon streams, and consequently to be mercilessly slaughtered, although always in sporting fashion. To be equal to such prey, the hound must have a Bulldog's courage, a Newfoundland's strength in water, a Pointer's nose, a Retriever's sagacity, the stamina of the Foxhound, the patience of a Beagle, the intelligence of a Collie. ”

“ A magnificent lot of dogs, containing the blood of the most celebrated hounds in the best packs, they are not much disturbed by the entrance of strangers. Some of them half step down from the bench, when you pat and stroke them; they do not attempt to bite, and are, in fact, exceedingly quiet, unless you are foolish enough to strike them. Then you will see. Although the hounds are so much alike, the huntsman has the name of each dog on the tip of his tongue, and when, he calls, the animal is back in his place in an instant—so absolute is his command. ”

“ As he proceeds, his wind, but not his courage, fails him, until, on the pack approaching him, though any one of them would have yelped piteously had but one of his toes been caught in a trap, yet, so soon as the leading hound comes up, he pitches into him, and when the infuriated pack rush in upon him, he invariably dies in the midst of them, without the utterance of the smallest moan, sigh, or sound. ”

“ When two or three days had passed and the black hound had recovered his strength, Rufe took him into the woods with our own dog and put them both upon the track of a deer.
The black hound followed the track steadily, but he uttered no bark, confining himself to a low, excited whimpering. Even when the game was roused and the hot scent gave ardor to the pursuing dogs, the black hound did not join in the frantic baying of his companion. ”

“ Imagine the difficulty of breaking in a young hound for elk-hunting when the jungles are swarming with such a list of vermin! The better the pup the more he will persevere in hunting everything that he can possibly find; and with such a variety of animals, some of which have the most enticing scent, it is a source of endless trouble in teaching a young hound what to limit and what to avoid.
It is curious to witness the sagacity of the old hounds in joining or despising the opening note of a newcomer. ”

“ The selection of brood bitches, the choosing [Pg 81] of sires, the rearing of puppies, the finding of walks, the losses by distemper; the accidents, the drafting, the entering; the exercising and disciplining of young hounds; the conditioning of working hounds, their maintenance in health, their feeding and kennelling,—these give but an outline of the subjects that demand the skilled attention of an M.F.H. and his servants. It is man that has made the fox-hound not less than the race-horse. ”

“ He commences his wanderings at sunset, and retires to the forest at break of day. He is seldom found in greater numbers than two or three together, and is generally alone. When brought to bay he fights to the last, and charges man and hound indiscriminately, a choice hound killed being often the price of victory. ”

“ Now and again his gaze would turn upon the hound behind him, and, on these occasions, the movement was evidently the result of some sudden, unpleasant thought, and had nothing to do with the sportsman’s watchfulness which makes him seek to discover, in the alert canine attitude, some keener instinct of the presence of game than is possessed by the human being. ”

“ The hound is represented in his best and noblest aspect: all the forces of his being seem concentrated in loving anxiety. It is as if suffering brought out in the dog's nature those higher qualities by which he is allied to human beings. His countenance is intensely expressive yet thoroughly canine. Every line of the drawing brings out the dog's character,—the squat of the haunches, the position of the legs far apart, the rising of the hair on the crest of the back, the droop of the head, the flattening of the tail.
The broad collar with the ring is a symbol of his subjection. ”