58 THE BLOODHOUND 



having been discovered after an interval of thirty 

 hours, but it may be conceded that the scent iof a 

 black man is much more pronounced than that of a 

 white. In some of the southern States convicts are 

 leased to colliery proprietors and other large em- 

 ployers of labour. Close supervision under such cir- 

 cumstances is necessarily somewhat difficult, but a 

 forfeit of two hundred dollars has to be paid for 

 every prisoner who escapes. This forfeit, however, 

 rarely has to be redeemed, for a pack of Blood- 

 hounds attached to the establishment renders escape 

 almost impossible, although dense woods may be close 

 at hand. To keep them in practice a negro convict 

 called a " trusty " is occasionally let loose and given 

 a start of an hour or more. The hounds come up 

 to him very quickly after they are laid on. 



In this country Bloodhounds are hunted mainly as 

 a sport, and there is no inducement to owners to 

 perfect their training to a high degree ; for most 

 practical purposes a start of an hour or two is quite 

 sufficient to ensure a good run across country. But 

 of course, if they were to be used for police purposes, 

 it would be necessary to guarantee that they should 

 work on a scent at least ten or twelve hours cold. 

 Bloodhounds have occasionally been hunted in packs, 

 with the deer as a quarry ; but general experience 

 is that they do not pack well, each hound preferring 

 to puzzle out the line for himself, and they pbject 

 very strongly to being over -ridden or to rating of 

 any sort. The man who has not the time or money 

 for fox-hunting may work out many pretty scenting 

 problems with the aid of a couple of Bloodhounds. 

 He can choose his own country, and if he does not 

 ride it is generally possible to select a circular course 

 whereby most of the hunting may be seen. 



