In The Low And Hot Climates They Lead A Short And
Miserable Life, Which Is Soon Ended By A Liver Complaint; Thus If A
Supply For The Pack Cannot Be Kept Up By Breeding, Hounds Must Be
Procured From England At A Great Expense And Risk.
The pack now in the kennel is as near perfection as can be attained for
elk-hunting, comprising ten
Couple, most of whom are nearly thoroughbred
fox-hounds, with a few couple of immense seizers, a cross between
bloodhound and greyhound, and a couple of large wire-haired lurchers,
like the Scotch deer-hound.
In describing the sport, I must be permitted to call up the spirits of a
few heroes, who are now dead, and place them in the vacant places which
they formerly occupied in the pack.
The first who answers to the magic call is `Smut,' hero of at least 400
deaths of elk and boar. He appears the same well-remembered form of
strength, the sullen growl which greeted even his master, the numerous
scars and seams upon his body; behold old Smut! His sire was a Manilla
blood-hound, which accounted for the extreme ferocity of the son. His
courage was indomitable. He was a large dog, but not high, considering
his great length, but his limbs were immense in proportion. His height
at the shoulder was 26 1/2 inches; his girth of brisket 34 inches. In
his younger days he always opened upon a scent, and the rocky mountains
and deep valleys have often echoed back his deep notes which have now,
like himself, passed away.
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