For the careful student of this volume

For the careful student of this volume

For the careful student of this volume

It may be said that, for the careful student of this volume, as it is now given entire, in its three separate parts, who has time, temper, patience, and firmness, to follow out its precepts to the letter, this drawback is abolished.

The writers are all the three good friends to that best of the friends of man, the faithful dog; and I feel some claim to a share in their well-doing, and to the gratitude of the good animal, and of those who love him, in bringing them thus together, in an easy compass, and a form attainable to all who love the sports of the field, and yet love mercy more.

Frank Forester.

The Cedars, Newark, N.J.,

With so little distress to himself or his pupil

With so little distress to himself or his pupil

With so little distress to himself or his pupil

Bearing these facts in mind, the American sportsman will have no difficulty in applying all the rules given in the admirable work in question; and the American dog-breaker can by no other means produce so perfect an animal for his pains, with so little distress to himself or his pupil.

The greatest drawback to the pleasures of dog-keeping and sporting, are the occasional sufferings of the animals, when diseased, which the owner cannot relieve, and the occasional severity with which he believes himself at times compelled to punish his friend and servant.

To pheasant shooting we have nothing perfectly analogous

To pheasant shooting we have nothing perfectly analogous

To pheasant shooting we have nothing perfectly analogous

To pheasant shooting we have nothing perfectly analogous. Indeed, the only sport in North America which at all resembles it, is ruffed-grouse shooting, where they abound sufficiently to make it worth the sportsman's while to pursue them alone. Where they do so, there is no difference in the mode of pursuing the two birds, however dissimilar they may be in their other habits and peculiarities.

English and American grouse-shooting may be regarded as identical

English and American grouse-shooting may be regarded as identical

English and American grouse-shooting may be regarded as identical

In like manner, English and American grouse-shooting may be regarded as identical, except that the former is practised on heathery mountains, the latter on grassy plains; and that pointers are preferable on the latter, owing to the drought and want of water, and to a particular kind of prickly burr, which terribly afflicts the long-haired setter. The same qualities and performances constitute the excellence of dogs for either sport, and, as there the moors, so here the prairies, are, beyond all doubt, the true field for carrying the art of dog-breaking to perfection.

To bushy coverts and underwood among tall timber

To bushy coverts and underwood among tall timber

To bushy coverts and underwood among tall timber

The partridge, in England, varies in few of its habits from our quail I might almost say in none unless that it prefers turnip fields, potatoe fields, long clover, standing beans, and the like, to bushy coverts and underwood among tall timber, and that it never takes to the tree. Like our quail, it must be hunted for and found in the open, and marked into, and followed up in, its covert, whatever that may be.

Which is not applicable to this country

Which is not applicable to this country

Which is not applicable to this country

I will conclude by observing, that although this work is exclusively on breaking for English shooting, there is not one word in it, which is not applicable to this country.

The methods of woodcock and snipe shooting are exactly the same in both countries, excepting only that in England there is no summer-cock shooting. Otherwise, the practice, the rules, and the qualifications of dogs are identical.

I shall never attempt any practice other than that of Mayhew

I shall never attempt any practice other than that of Mayhew

I shall never attempt any practice other than that of Mayhew

I shall never attempt any practice other than that of Mayhew, for distemper; and, as he says, I am satisfied it is true, that no dog, taken in time, and treated by his rules, need die of this disease.

Colonel Hutchinson's volume, which is to dog-breaking, what Mayhew's is to dog-medicining science, experience, patience, temper, gentleness, and judgment, against brute force and unreasoning ignorance I have so far abridged as to omit, while retaining all the rules and precepts, such anecdotes of the habits, tricks, faults, and perfections of individual animals, and the discursive matter relative to Indian field sports, and general education of animals, as, however interesting in themselves, have no particular utility to the dog-breaker or sportsman in America. Beyond this I have done no more than to change the word September to the more general term of Autumn, in the heading of the chapters, and to add a few short notes, explanatory of the differences and comparative relations of English and American game.

Two very unusually severe cases of distemper

Two very unusually severe cases of distemper

Two very unusually severe cases of distemper

I have this year treated, myself, two very unusually severe cases of distemper, one of acute dysentery, one of chronic diarrhœa, and one of most aggravated mange, implicitly after his instructions, and that with perfect, and, in three instances, most unexpected, success. The cases of distemper were got rid of with less suffering to the animals, and with less in fact, no prostration or emaciation than I have ever before witnessed.

Particularly as regards his breeding

Particularly as regards his breeding

Particularly as regards his breeding

I will add, in brief, that while I believe the little manual of Dinks to be the best short and brief compendium on the Dog, particularly as regards his breeding, conditioning, kennel and field management, and general specialities, there can be no possible doubt that Mayhew's pages are the ne plus ultra of canine pathology. There is nothing comparable to his treatment of all diseases for gentleness, simplicity, mercy to the animal, and effect. I have no hesitation in saying, that any person with sufficient intelligence to make a diagnosis according to his showing of the symptoms, and patience to exhibit his remedies, precisely according to his directions, cannot fail of success.

Editor's Preface.

Editor's Preface.

In offering to the American public a new edition of Dinks and Mayhew on the Dog, which, I am happy to find, is largely called for, I have been induced to make a further addition, which will, I think, render this the most perfect and comprehensive work in existence for the dog fancier and dog lover.

For myself I claim no merit, since, with the exception of one or two trivial changes in unimportant recipes in Dinks, and some abridgment of the last admirable work of Col. Hutchinson on Dog Breaking, which is now included in this volume, I have found occasion to make no alterations whatever, and, save a few notes, no additions.

Dinks, Mayhew, And Hutchinson.

Dinks, Mayhew, And Hutchinson.

COMPILED, ABRIDGED, EDITED, AND ILLUSTRATED

BY

FRANK FORESTER,

AUTHOR OF "FIELD SPORTS," "FISH AND FISHING," "HORSES AND HORSEMANSHIP OF THE UNITED STATES AND BRITISH PROVINCES," "THE COMPLETE MANUAL FOR YOUNG SPORTSMEN," ETC., ETC.

Complete and Revised Edition.

New York:
GEO. E. WOODWARD,
191 BROADWAY.

Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1873,
By GEORGE E. WOODWARD,
In the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington.

(The Numbers Refer to The Picture.)

(The Numbers Refer to The Picture.)

• Apple-headed. Skull round instead of flat on top.

1. ARM.

• Blaze. A white mark up the face.
• Brush. The tail of a Collie, or any bushy tail.

2. BRISKET. The part of the body between the chest and the neck. Front part of chest.

• Butterfly-nose. A spotted nose.
• Button-ear. An ear which falls over in front, concealing the inside, as in Fox-Terriers.
• Broken-up Face. Refers more particularly to the face of the Bulldog or Toy Spaniel, and comprises the receding nose, or lay-back, deep stop, and wrinkle.
• Burr. The inside of the ears.
• Breeching. The tan-colored hairs on the back of the thighs of a Black-and-tan Terrier.
• Beefy. Big, beefy hind-quarters.
• Cat-foot. A short, round foot, with the knuckles high and well developed; like a cat's, short, round and compact.

3. CHEST. The chest of a dog must not be confounded with the brisket; the breast or chest extends between the fore-legs from the brisket to the belly.

• Cheeky. When the cheek bumps are strongly defined; thick in cheek.
• Chaps or Chops. The pendulous lips of the Bulldog; the foreface of a Bulldog.
• Cobby. Well ribbed up; short and compact.
• Cloddy or Cobby. Thick-set, short-coupled and low in stature.
• Couplings. The length or space between the tops of the shoulder-blades and tops of the hip-joints, or buckle-bones. A dog is accordingly spoken of as long or short "in the couplings."
• Cow-hocked. The hocks turning inward; hocks that turn in, like those of a cow.
• Cushion. Fulness in the top lips.
• Crook-tail. The crooked tail of a Bulldog.
• Crank-tail. Same as above.
• Culotte. The feather on the thighs, as in the Schipperke and Pomeranian.
• Character. The combination of points contributing to the whole make-up and giving to a dog that which is desired in his particular variety.
• Corky. Compact and active looking; springy and lively in action.
• Dew-claws. The extra claws found occasionally on the legs of all breeds, but especially of the St. Bernard; the superfluous claws inside the hind-leg just above the foot.
• Dewlap. Pendulous skin under the throat as in case of Blood-hound.
• Dish-faced. This term describes a dog whose nasal bone is higher at the nose than at the stop a feature not infrequently seen in pointers.
• Dudley-nose. A flesh-colored nose.
• Domed Skull. Round skull.
• Deep in Brisket. Deep in chest; deep from withers to point where chest and brisket meet.

4. ELBOW. The joint at the top of the forearm.

• Elbows Out or "Out at Elbows." This term defines itself. Bulldogs and Dachshunde are desirable with elbows so shaped, but it may occur as a fault through weakness.
• Expression. The expression of a dog is largely but not wholly determined by the size, angular position, and degree of prominence of the eye. For instance in a St. Bernard the eye is small, somewhat sunken, showing a little haw. This gives a dignified and rather benevolent expression. "Collie expression" depends largely on the angle at which eyes are set to each other.
• Feather. The fringe of hair on the back of legs of some breeds, notably Setters, Spaniels, and Sheep-dogs. The feathering on legs, as in the Setter and Spaniel.
• Flag. The tail of a Setter.
• Flews. The chops, or overhanging lips of the upper jaw. The term is chiefly applied to hounds or other deep-mouthed dogs. The lips.

5. FOREARM. This makes the principal length of the fore-leg and extends from elbow to pastern.

• Frill. The long hair on the brisket of some dogs, and especially of the Collie. The profuse hair under the neck.
• Frog-face or Down-face. Nose not receding.
• Flat-sided. Flat in ribs; opposite of well-ribbed up.
• Grizzle. A bluish-gray color.
• Hare-foot. Foot like that of a hare, long and narrow.
• Haw. The red inside eyelid, usually hidden, but visible in Bloodhounds and St. Bernards; the red membrane inside the lower eyelid.

6. HOCKS. The lower joint of hind-leg.

• Height. The height of a dog is measured at the shoulder, bending the head gently down. The proper method is to place the dog on level ground close by a wall, and to lay a flat rule across his shoulders so as to touch the wall; then measure to the point touched by the rule.

7. HUCKLE-BONES. Tops of the hip-joints. The space between these and the tops of the shoulders is called the couplings.

• Harlequin. Pied, mottled, or patchy in color.

8. KNEE. The joint attaching the fore-pasterns and the forearm.

• Kink-tail. A tail with a single break or kink in it.
• Leather. The ears i. e., the loose visible part of them.
• Layback. Receding nose.
• Loins. That part of the anatomy of the dog between the last rib and hindquarters.
• Long in Flank. Long in back and loins.
• Lumber. Superfluous flesh.
• Mask. The dark muzzle of a Mastiff or Pug.
• Mane. The profuse hair on top of neck.
• Merle. A bluish-gray color splashed with black.
• Monkey-faced. See Dish-faced.

9. NASAL BONE.

• Occiput. The prominent bone at the back or top of the skull; particularly prominent in Bloodhounds; the bony bump on the top of the head.
• Overshot. The upper teeth projecting over the lower. This fault in excess makes a dog pig-jawed. The top jaw protruding beyond the lower jaw.
• Out at Shoulders. Shoulders set on outside, as in the Bulldog.
• Out at Elbows. Elbows turning out.

10. PASTERN. The lowest section of the leg, below the knee or hock respectively, usually only applied to those joints on front legs.

• Pig-jawed. The upper jaw protruding over the lower, so that the upper incisor teeth are in advance of the lower, an exaggeration of an over-shot jaw.
• Pily. A peculiar quality of coat found on some dogs, which show on examination a short woolly jacket next the skin, out of which springs the longer visible coat. This short woolly coat is "pily." When an ordinary coat is described as pily, it means that it is soft and woolly, instead of hard.
• Prick Ear. (See Tulip ear). An erect ear; not turned down or folded.
• Plume. The tail of a Pomeranian.
• Pad. The under portion or sole of the foot.
• Penciling. The black marks or streaks divided by tan on the toes of a Black-and-tan Terrier.
• Rose-ear. An ear of which the tip turns backward and downward, so as to disclose the inside of the ear.

13. RUMP-BONE.

• Ring-tail. A tail curving round in circular fashion.
• Roach Back or Arched Loins. The arched or wheel formation of loin, as in a Greyhound, Dachshunde, Dandie Dinmont Terrier, and Bulldog.
• Racy. Slight in build and leggy, as in the Greyhound or Whippet.
• Septum. The division between the nostrils.

11. SHOULDERS. Top of the shoulder-blades, the point at which the height of a dog is measured.

• Splay-foot. A flat, awkward front foot, usually turned outward; and the opposite of "Cat-foot."
• Stern. The tail.

12. STIFLE-JOINTS. Stifles. The joints of hind-leg next above the hocks.

• Stop. The indentation across the skull between the nose and the eyes. This feature is strongly developed in Bulldogs, Pugs and short-faced Spaniels, and considerably so in many other dogs. The step or indentation between the forehead and nose.
• Snipy. Too pointed in muzzle.
• Semi-prick Ear. An erect ear of which the end falls over forward.
• Sickle-tail. A tail forming a semicircle, like a sickle.
• Short-coupled. Short in back and loins.
• Shelly. Too narrow and light in body.
• Second Thighs. The muscular development between stifle-joint and hock.
• Style. Showy, spirited, or gay demeanor.
• Tulip-ear. An upright or prick ear.
• Topknot. The hair on top of the head, as in the Irish Water Spaniel, Dandie Dinmont, and Bedlington Terrier.
• Throatiness. Overmuch loose skin or flesh under throat.
• Twist. The curled tail of a Pug.
• Trace. The dark mark down the back of a Pug.
• Tucked-up. Tucked-up loin, as in the Greyhound.
• Tricolor. Black, tan and white.
• Thumb Marks. The round, black spots on the forelegs of a Black-and-tan Terrier.
• Timber. Bone.
• Undershot. The lower incisor teeth, projecting beyond the upper, as in Bulldogs. The under jaw protruding beyond the upper jaw.
• Upright Shoulders. Shoulders that are set in an upright, instead of an oblique position; not laid back.
• Vent. The tan colored hair below root of tail.
• Varmint Expression. As in the eye of the Fox Terrier, which is free from Haw, is not Sunken, is round but rather small than large, and set horizontally, not obliquely, giving a keen, rather "cussed" look.
• Wall-eye. A blue mottled eye.
• Wrinkle. Loose-folding skin over the skull.
• Wheaten. Pale yellowish color.
• Withers. Same as 11.

Descriptive Table of Technical Termsas Applied to The Dog.

Descriptive Table of Technical Termsas Applied to The Dog.

The following table of definitions are used descriptive of the parts of the dog's anatomy, and are used and understood generally by professionals:

I have seen some discussion about the size of coons

I have seen some discussion about the size of coons

I have seen some discussion about the size of coons

I have seen some discussion about the size of 'coons. The largest 'coon I ever caught weighed 30 pounds. He measured from the tip of his tail to the end of his nose, 4 feet and 4 inches. I caught another one last winter that weighed 25 pounds and measured four feet and 2 inches from his nose to the end of his tail.

I catch a good many that weigh over 20 pounds. Another thing I want to tell you is this, in over 20 years of 'coon hunting I have never cut a tree down to get a 'coon. There is too much of that kind of work done. Where are all of the 'coons going to stay when you get all of the den trees cut down? I want to ask you where is the land owner that wants 'coon hunters cutting his timber down? Think of cutting a fine, large tree down because it has a hole in it with a 'coon inside. If I get a 'coon in such a tree and can't climb it, I just call the dogs away from the tree and let him go until some other time. I make it my business to go that way again some night, and the chances are I get that same 'coon in such a tree and can't climb it, I just tree a head of Mr. 'Coon if I can, and he goes up some tree that I can get him out of when he sees he is cut off from his den tree, and the tree is left for the next 'coon that comes along. So, brothers, please cut the tree cutting out, as it is for your own good to let those kind of trees stand if you want to hunt 'coon. When you go around thru the timber destroying it, some one is going to call a halt on YOU, and on the other hand it is not at all necessary to cut the timber to get the 'coon, and the tree is undoubtedly worth more to the man that own the land than the 'coon is to you.

Of course, if the owner of the tree gives you permission to cut the tree, that clears you on that score, but after the tree is down, you will never find another 'coon in that tree.

Any one of my dogs will kill a coon if necessary

Any one of my dogs will kill a coon if necessary

Any one of my dogs will kill a coon if necessary

Any one of my dogs will kill a 'coon if necessary, but they don't get the chance very often. There has been a few times that I let them kill the 'coon, when I could have killed him myself, when there were some of the boys with me that wanted to see them kill the 'coon, but it is tiresome work on a dog to kill a 'coon, harder a great deal than treeing one. My dogs will not stay at a hole unless the 'coon is very close to the top of the ground, as where I hunt there are a great many old coal entries and it would be a nuisance to have them bark at such places as you could not get them out, so I never encourage them to stay at a hole when they run one in.

In telling how to break a young dog to tree Coon said

In telling how to break a young dog to tree Coon said

In telling how to break a young dog to tree Coon said

I notice where a brother, in telling how to break a young dog to tree 'Coon said, to let the 'coon chew the dog for a while, help the 'coon, let him eat the dog for about 20 minutes and the dog would go to hunting them to get revenge, or something to that effect. Now it is my opinion that the dog would not want any more revenge as he would get a plenty right there, and the chances are that he would ever after be afraid of a 'coon, if he were a pup and got that kind of treatment. Help your dog kill a 'coon whenever you can, if you can do it without danger to the dog. I never let my dogs kill a 'coon when it can be avoided. If I can find the 'coon with my light in the tree I shoot him out, and then sometimes he has plenty of fight in him when he comes down. Other times he is dead when he hits the ground.

Put your burlap on the outside at the hole as before described

Put your burlap on the outside at the hole as before described

Put your burlap on the outside at the hole as before described

Another easy way to make a good place for a dog is cut a hole in the side of a building that has a good roof, and put a box large enough so that it will give your dog plenty of room right tight up against the inside of the building where you cut the holes thru. Knock one side of your box out and put it to the hole on inside of building. Put your burlap on the outside at the hole as before described, and you have a fine place for your dog. Make the hole just large enough so he can get thru it easily, and cut it high enough so that when he lays down in the box, the bottom of the hole will be above the dog. Give your dog good, clean bedding at least once a week. Twice a week is not too often. Use some disinfectant about two or three times a month inside of dog house. The best cure for mange that I have ever used, or for sores to heal them is black gun powder, powdered sulphur and lard, mixed and well rubbed in. It is a sure cure for mange. It will soon kill the germs, if properly applied.

Now as to their sleeping places

Now as to their sleeping places

Now as to their sleeping places

Now as to their sleeping places, if you can let your dogs run loose, and they will find warm places to sleep, with plenty of bedding in the barn or other out buildings where the ventilation is good, but no drafts of air to blow on them, that is the best place for them. I keep part of my dogs tied up, as they would be off hunting if I let them run loose. For those I use on the chain I use a 20-foot chain. Build a good, warm dog house with a shingle roof, an individual house for one dog. Cut a hole that he can get thru easily and then tack some burlap just above the hole and let it hang down over the hole. When it is cold weather I leave it down, but when it is pleasant I fasten it up so that it leaves the hole open. The air can get thru the burlap but it breaks the wind off of the dog and keeps the snow from blowing in on his nest, or rain if it is raining. He can go out and in when the burlap is down.

I sometimes bake corn bread for the dogs for a change

I sometimes bake corn bread for the dogs for a change

I sometimes bake corn bread for the dogs for a change

I sometimes bake corn bread for the dogs for a change, which makes a good food for them but not so strong a food as the other. I think a hound will do more running and keep in better order on that mush with meat than any food you can give them. Of course, if a person has but one dog, he can generally get enough from the house scraps from the table, but when you have a dozen or so you will have to get your dog food elsewhere. In warm weather this mush will sour in a few hours, but in cold weather it will keep sweet. I feed my dogs once a day when they are idle, but when I am hunting them I feed them twice a day. Feed each dog by himself.

Some people think a hound don t know anything but trail

Some people think a hound don t know anything but trail

Some people think a hound don t know anything but trail

Some people think a hound don't know anything but trail, but a good hound is a very smart dog and a poor hound is about as worthless a dog as you can find. Take the hound as a breed and I must say they are a noble breed. The fox hound requires, I think, more exercise than any other breed of dogs. I have a 25 gallon caldron. I put most any kind of meat that I can get, beef, horse flesh, 'coon, when there is one that is pretty badly bruised up, pork or any kind of meat that is not decomposed, and put it into this caldron. Of course, I put water in first then put in my meat and boil until it will all stir off the bone. I then take all the bones out and stir in corn meal until I have enough so that when the meal is done it will be a very stiff mush. When it is done and cooled off you can take it out in chunks. Use no salt, if any, very little, as a very little salt will physic a dog.

I have a black and tan hound that will fight for me at any time

I have a black and tan hound that will fight for me at any time

I have a black and tan hound that will fight for me at any time

I have a black and tan hound that will fight for me at any time. I can't scuffle with any one outside of my own family for he will bite them just as quick as he can get close enough to them. I had to give him several hard whippings to make him quit rabbits. Now they don't bother him any when he is looking for 'coon with me at night. His father was the hardest dog to break off of rabbits that I ever broke, but when he was three years old he would not notice a rabbit at night but would trail them in the day time. He turned out to be a very valuable hound. He would retrieve as good as a retriever on land or in water, would catch any hog that I told him to catch and hold it until I told him to let it go. I could point out any chicken I wanted him to catch and he would get it for me and would not hurt the chicken any.

For a man never gets too old to learn

For a man never gets too old to learn

For a man never gets too old to learn

I don't claim to know it all, for a man never gets too old to learn. He could learn something every day if he lived a thousand years, or for all time to come. There is no dog that will work a cold trail out like a good hound. He will work out a trail and tree a 'coon when a cur dog would pass right over the trail and pay no attention to it whatever. It must be the brothers that like the still trailers that never had a good 'coon hound, for I have never seen good 'coon dogs but I have seen the best ones wrapped up in a fox hound hide.

The fast hound can t help but run over

The fast hound can t help but run over

The fast hound can t help but run over

I read where a brother made the statement that you wanted a slow hound for a 'coon dog. Well, he may want a slow one, yet I am sure I do not. He goes on to say that a fast dog will run over the trail if the 'coon makes a short or square turn, the fast hound will run by and lose too much time finding the trail again. Let me tell you right here, the fast hound can't help but run over, but he knows right where he lost that trail. If he happens to circle the right way he only has to make a half circle and he is off again. On the other hand, if he circles the other way he makes a full circle and hits the trail and is going just as fast as ever. If he has a good nose on him he has not lost four seconds. A fast hound will make that turn in a trail quicker every time than a slow one will. I have had both slow and fast and have hunted 'coons about 23 years. Am now a man 38 years old, and if I don't know what a hound is I sure never will.

Not little young coon any more than old ones

Not little young coon any more than old ones

Not little young coon any more than old ones

I see some of the brothers think nothing but a still trailer catches his 'coon on the ground. If you have fast trailers they will catch 'coon on the ground if they tongue every other jump. My dogs are all good tonguers and I often have them catch 'coon on the ground and big 'coon, not little young 'coon any more than old ones. A young 'coon will take to a tree quicker than an old one. I have got to see my first well bred 'coon hound that will still trail. I have never seen him yet, that is, a fox hound. I have tried shepherd and hound cross, bull dog and hound cross, and beagle and fox hound cross, but give me the pure bred fox hound every time for a 'coon dog, and I don't care how long his pedigree is either. Let me tell you, you cannot get a fox hound too fast for 'coon, the faster he is the better.

Now I see some of the hunters like a still trailer

Now I see some of the hunters like a still trailer

Now I see some of the hunters like a still trailer

Now I see some of the hunters like a still trailer, but I want to hear my dogs work and I want to know which way they are going, and when they begin to get away I can follow and keep in hearing of my dogs. I can tell by their baying just about what they are doing, if the trail is cold or warm, and can tell which way they are going. I wouldn't give a cent to hunt with dogs that couldn't make a little music when on the trail.

Gets it into his head that nobody has a dog quite as good as his

Gets it into his head that nobody has a dog quite as good as his

Gets it into his head that nobody has a dog quite as good as his

It seems that about every man that has a 'coon dog or dogs and they tree a few 'coons, gets it into his head that nobody has a dog quite as good as his. I have one pair of hounds from a Williams bitch and a dog owned by Mr. Williams Hodo is his name but he is a pure Trigg dog. His pedigree runs back over forty years. One of Haiden C. Trigg's dogs, Trigg, is the most successful hound breeder in the United States today. He started on the old original American fox hound, these long eared fellows with a deep mellow voice, called by some nigger chasers, as they used them in the south for that purpose, and some dealers are selling the old American Fox Hound today for American Blood Hounds. The only genuine blood hound we have is the English. See what the Trigg dog is today, short ears or much shorter than the dog Mr. Trigg started to improve on, with narrow muzzle, and stands up well with good feet and built on speedy lines, a red fox dog, and when he started on there were few of them that could hole a red fox inside of eight hours, and the Trigg dog of today will hole a red fox in a comparatively short time. Of course the fox they are running and the kind of country they have to run in, have a great deal to do with it. I run fox myself sometimes, or my hounds do rather.

We went to them and they had two coons up

We went to them and they had two coons up

We went to them and they had two coons up

The dogs soon had another trail going and gave us some fine music for a little while and barked treed. We went to them and they had two 'coons up. We shot them out, and they soon had another one going south. It was getting pretty frosty about that time and they worked that trail about one hour south and west. We followed their music and they barked treed. We shot him out. That makes eleven 'coon and one killed in the field that we could not find. Now there may be some of the trappers that will think I have added a few 'coon to this hunt, but I have not. I have given you this 'coon hunt as near as it happened as I can remember, but we had seven as good 'coon dogs as you generally run across. I do not say seven of the best dogs ever went into the woods or the best in the United States, but they were 'coon dogs and fast ones.

They started south but it was a cold one

They started south but it was a cold one

They started south but it was a cold one

They started south but it was a cold one, but they struck right after Mr. 'Coon, and I guess they must have taken us a mile and a half on that trail to another patch of timber, and we were about a half a mile behind them when they barked treed. They had Mr. 'Coon up a tall red oak. We shot him out and soon had another trail going. They took this one south, and it was a warm one, right out into a corn field, and they caught him on the ground. We could hear the fracas and went to them as quick as possible, but we were not quick enough for they had killed Mr. 'Coon and we met them coming back. We went to where we thought they were when they caught the 'coon but we did not find the right place for we did not find that coon.

The dogs were working a trail and they were puzzled on it

The dogs were working a trail and they were puzzled on it

The dogs were working a trail and they were puzzled on it

We then started northwest. The dogs were working a trail and they were puzzled on it; did not seem able to get away. There were a black oak and hazel bush where we were then, so we sat down to let the dogs work it out if they could. We were sitting within 10 feet of an oak tree, the lone dog came up, circles the tree and barks up, then three of the other dogs come up and start to bark. One of the boys says there might be a 'coon up that tree but I doubt it. Well, I said, when four good 'coon dogs bark up a tree at the same time, there is liable to be something up there, so up went one of the boys and down came Mr. 'Coon. We got him and the dogs were not long in starting another trail.

I had an old speckled hound we called Teddy

I had an old speckled hound we called Teddy

I had an old speckled hound we called Teddy

I had an old speckled hound we called Teddy. He went in and when he backed out he had company with him, and he seemed to think a great deal of his company, for he was hanging right on to him just as though he thought his company might leave him if he got a chance. Ted was doing all he could, but he got him up so the other dogs could see Mr. 'Coon's back and then he had plenty of help and the 'coon's troubles were soon over.