BLOODHOUND, a dog of the ((hound* build, commonly used for tracking fugitives. It usually stands from 25 to 27 inches high at the shoulders and weighs about 90 pounds. In appearance it is of a sedately noble expres sion, with a wise-looking, wrinkled face. Its color is black, mingled with a rich tan on the legs; a few are all tan. Its coat is short and glossy, the ears large and pendant, and the eyes deeply sunken and showing a third lid or thaw?' It has a somewhat loose skin for so muscular a dog and quite a dewlap in front of the throat. It has a wonderful power of scent, by means of which, aided by judicious training, it is enabled to 'follow the footsteps of a particular man, though they may be crossed and recrossed a thousand times by other foot steps and though they lead over bare pave ments. The true bloodhound suffers from an unfortunate name, which seems to suggest bloodthirstiness, a quality very far removed from his real disposition. The term ublood
hound' originally meant simply that the dog was thoroughbred in the same sense that a horse or other animal is of ((blood') or "blooded' stock. In the early days the Span iards introduced into Cuba and South Amer ica dogs which had some of the characteristics of the bloodhound but were really a cross be tween the ferocious war-dog of the ancients and the big Spanish pointer. These dogs had evil dispositions and were capable of great ferocity, and their sins have been visited on the real but innocent bloodhound. The true bloodhound will trail a man to the last of its strength but will not voluntarily attack him. When it has located him, it will keep guard and prevent his escape, and may, if attacked, use its great powers in self-defense, but not in the savage manner generally attributed to it; it is not in its nature to be crttel.