BLOOD-Hounds, in Zoology, the canis sagax of Linnaeus*, le chien courant of Buffon, the sleuthhound of the Scots: The hound or dog, with long, smooth, and pendulous ears. It was a dog of great use, and in high esteem with our ancestors: its employ was to recover any game that had escaped wounded from the hunter, or been killed and stole out of the forest. It was remarkable for the acuteness of its smell, tracing the lost beast by the blood it had spilt; from whence the name is derived. This species could, with the utmost certainty, discover the thief by following his footsteps, let the distance of his flight be ever so great, and through the most secret and thickest coverts; nor would it cease its pursuit till it had taken the felon. They were likewise used by Wallace and Bruce during the civil wars. The poetical historians of the two heroes frequently relate very curious passages on this subject; of the service these dogs were of to their masters, and the escapes they had from those of the enemy. The blood-hound was in great request on the confines of England and Scotland; where the borderers were continually preying on the herds and flocks of their neighbours. The true blood-hound was large, strong, muscular, broad-breasted, of a stern countenance, of a deep tan-colour, and generally marked with a black spot above each eye.