120 The Carnivora. 
particular question arising in the animal’s mind would 
follow with experience; and the dog must eventually learn 
to hunt his master’s trail. Before this dog attained the 
age of twelve months he had made himself an adept at man- 
hunting, and, however intricate the bush might be, I had 
no fear of losing him. 
When, then, I had some trials with him in England at 
about four years old he tracked me with a certainty that I 
have not seen attained by any other dog. In a seven acre 
meadow, containing several isolated trees, I walked bare- 
footed one morning a course of perhaps half a mile round 
about, doubling several times on my track, and passing 
round the trees in a particular order, and finally climbed 
into a tree, where I was sufficiently hidden by ‘the foliage, 
and watched. A few minutes after I had taken up my 
station a friend led the dog into the meadow and released 
him. He cast about, and was very soon on the track, 
hunting it close, on an evidently hot scent. There was 
no appearance of more than momentary hesitation at the 
spots where I had doubled, and he passed round the trees in 
the same order as myself. On coming to the tree in which I 
was concealed, thirty feet above the ground, he hesitated, 
made some wide casts round, and returned to it in much 
perplexity. It did not seem to occur to him that I might 
be up above, but he was, at all events, convinced that there 
the trail ended, and kept running to and fro a few yards 
and whining with disappointment. I then came down and 
commended him for his capital piece of work. 
This is a great amusement, or rather, an interesting study 
for those who possess an intelligent dog who has been trained 
to use his nose in finding wounded game, and I should think 
that very few dogs still in the enjoyment of intact olfactory 
organs—such as Newfoundlands, bloodhounds, colleys, setters, 
pointers, retrievers, spaniels, foxhounds, Scotch deerhounds, 
fox terriers, and Skye terriers—would have much difficulty 
in making a good show in this respect, provided always they 
