Deer Hunting in Cuba 



almost impenetrable jungles a fast trailing, hard- 

 driving hound is far better, as the deer soon learn 

 many of the tricks of the fox in throwing off the 

 hounds, and avoid the small clearings, called 

 sabanetones, where at their stands the cigarette- 

 smoking hunters patiently await their appearance. 

 Pottering along on a cold trail, the slow hound will 

 sometimes be occupied an hour in forcing the 

 quarry out of a ten-acre thicket, where he finds it 

 difficult to drive them from the innumerable game 

 paths through the jungles, where they leave only 

 the foot scent, while a fast hound allows them 

 little choice of route, forcing them through the 

 thickets, where the scent, adhering to the bushes, 

 vines and tall grasses, enables the fast hounds to 

 own the line and trail them with heads breast high 

 at full speed, and they soon break for clearings 

 en route to the rivers or lagunas. It is well known 

 that the harder a deer is run and the warmer he 

 becomes the more body scent he gives off. The 

 native hunters, however, seem to prefer the slow 

 hound, and are contented to wait as lonely sentries 

 on a stand while the slow hounds potter along on a 

 cold trail. 



A hound three-fourths foxhound and one-fourth 

 bloodhound though subject to black tongue, a 

 fatal disease in the tropics makes an ideal dog 



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