THE BLOODHOUND. 199 



" Of a strong, compact, and muscular form ; the face rather narrow, stem, and intelligent ; 

 nostrils wide and large ; lips pendulous ; ears large, broad at the base, and narrowing to the tip ; 

 tail strong, but not bushy ; voice extremely loud and sonorous. But what most distinguishes 

 this kind is their uniform colour, a reddish-tan, gradually darkening on the upper part, with a 

 mixture of black on the back, becoming lighter on the lower parts and extremities. One of the 

 dogs I saw had a little white on the face, but this was not usual with that breed. Mr. Pennant 

 mentions their having a black spot over each eye ; this was not the case with either I made 

 the drawing from." 



Further on the same writer remarks of the Bloodhound : 



" There is no doubt he was originally the only dog used to trace game by the scent in this 

 country. The manner of the ancient hunt was not all that is now practised ; the game was 

 found and surrounded in its haunts, when roused it was shot by the arrow or wounded by the 

 spear; if in this state it escaped, the Bloodhound traced and the Mastiff or hunter killed it." 



It will thus be seen that from the earliest records the greatest value has been attached to 

 the keen scent possessed by a Bloodhound ; but in the present day the dog is practically 

 useless, such a thing as a pack of Bloodhounds being almost unknown. As a matter of fact, 

 we believe that Lord VVolverton, at Iwerne Minster, has the only representative pack now in 

 existence, and he certainly has some very creditable specimens of the breed, as his entries at 

 the Alexandra Palace Show in July, 1879, fully testified. A marked difference, however, 

 existed between Lord Wolverton's hounds and those of some other owners also present at 

 the same show. His lordship's hounds were all placed on sound legs, which, on the other 

 hand, carried plainer heads than their more luxurious neighbours the latter being bred more 

 for ornament than use, and the condition of many legs leaving much to be desired, though 

 their Iliads were in many instances nearly perfection. This can, of course, be easily accounted 

 for by the stress laid upon "taking" heads, and the disuse for the breed in the present day; 

 but there can be no excuse for a judge tacitly encouraging infirm hounds by awarding the 

 animals prizes. As the Rev. Grenville F. Hodson, who is a well-known judge of the breed, 

 once remarked at a public dinner, " it is no use a hound having a good head or body if he 

 has not the legs or feet to carry them." 



On account of his marvellous scent the Bloodhound has from time immemorial been 

 associated with the capture of escaped criminals. Dr. Caius, as shown above, and in 

 fact the majority of earlier wiiters, have all alluded to this dog's success as a thief-taker, and 

 his praises have been said or sung by every canine writer down to the present day. The 

 natural consequence of so much adulation has been that the Bloodhound is credited with 

 almost supernatural powers by many persons, and the simple exercise of its natural powers 

 of scent by an ordinary dog under peculiar circumstances has been before now turned to the 

 glory of the Bloodhound by ignorant folks. A case in point is the instance of a peculiarly 

 revolting crime in the neighbourhood of Blackburn. A so-called Bloodhound was said to have 

 been instrumental in tracking out the criminal, and bringing him to justice. As a matter of 

 fact, the man was strongly suspected by the police authorities, and the dog (not a Bloodhound, 

 by the way, but a mongrel) was brought into his house, where some portions of the body were 

 concealed, and which the animal naturally enough detected. At the time this simple and 



