56 THE BLOODHOUND 



St. Huberts, which were brought into this country 

 by William the Conqueror, and which came originally 

 from the Abbey of the Ardennes. The white St. 

 Huberts were probably the progenitors of the English 

 Talbots, whence in turn I should imagine descended 

 the old Southern hound, a heavily dew-lapped, slow- 

 hunting hound, which is almost extinct. The Rev. 

 Courtenay Morgan-Kirby, of Badlesmere Rectory, in 

 Kent, has a pack of harriers which he claims are 

 old Southern hounds, and I shall refer to them in 

 another chapter. 



For many centuries the Bloodhound has been em- 

 ployed for hunting man, but the references in history 

 are so familiar that they need no recapitulation here. 



His fine scenting powers, and that quality which 

 he possesses above all others of keeping to the one 

 line, although it may have been frequently crossed, 

 make him particularly adapted for the purpose of 

 hunting human beings, who leave a much lighter 

 scent that an animal like the fox. In modern times 

 the British police have shown little disposition to 

 avail themselves of the services of such an auxiliary 

 in running down malefactors, but a strong feeling is 

 growing up in favour of giving the Bloodhound a 

 chance to show what he can do. The man -hunting 

 trials first introduced by the Association of Blood- 

 hound Breeders in 1898, and since carried on by 

 that body and the Bloodhound Hunt Club, are helping 

 to educate the public, and I am looking forward 

 hopefully to the time when a couple or more trained 

 hounds will be readily available in every county, 

 ready to help the police in cases that are suitable. 

 I say " readily available " because brevity of time 

 between the discovery of the crime and the presence 



