p 



CHAPTER XVII. 



STILL TRAILERS VS. TONGUERS. MUSIC. 



ERHAPS no more mooted question enters 



in for so widely separated opinion as 



the comparative superiority^ of the Still 



Trailing dog and the Tonguers. 



The still or mute trailer is the deer, rabbit 



or night dog which does not give tongue on tlie 



trail. He keeps his silence, until his game is 



treed or in sight and about to tree. 



The tonguer gives forth a joyous and lusty 

 cry as soon as he makes a strike, and continues 

 to do so until the chase terminates. When treed 

 he changes his bark, so that usually the hunter 

 can distinguish between the signals. 



We shall withhold personal opinion as to 

 the preferable style, and present the arguments 

 of a number of adherents on both sides of the 

 question, allowing the reader to come to his own 

 conclusion. 



A West Virginia 'coon expert says, in favor 

 of the tonguer: I have had several good 'coon 

 dogs, both tonguers and silent trailers. This is 

 a hilly, brushy country, with lots of deep hol- 

 lows. The best 'coon dog I ever had was a three- 



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