Motague Stevens

[liontracker]

Lets see what we can come up with on him. I never read the book, just glanced through it. However, I get the feeling that he was the formost hunter of griz with hounds. Any pics of him and his hounds would be great. Spin away...

[Big Mike]

If i remember his book correct he ran about any dog that had four legs and a tail. He had wolf hounds, old english sheep dogs, terriers. But his best success was when he got a couple St hubert bloodhounds. Its is a interesting book worth reading

[Dan Edwards]

I enjoyed the book. It was nice. I dont agree with everything he said but I still enjoyed it. I also think there is a definate language barrier between those days and our modern days. You just have to "know" what he means and do not use the kc's definitions or thoughts and its all good.

[liontracker]

Hey Mike, help us out here.

[R.M.]

Definitely a book worth reading, not the easiest read, but still worth it. I remember in the beginning of his book Montague alluded to a "secret" to consistently catching grizz, I'm pretty sure the big secret was his liaison dogs (someone please correct me if I'm wrong about this). These dogs were a cross between his bloodhounds and sheepdogs. He would hunt with a pack of bloodhounds and two liaison dogs. Once the bloodhounds were out of hearing (fighting or trailing the grizz) the liaison dogs would trail the pack of hounds, but always stay within sight of Montague. This is how he would always be able to find the pack when they had the grizz bayed up. As I said before, I think this was the big secret to consistently catching grizz, but I'm not 100% sure about that.

[Hi Tech]

Montague was ahead of the game when it came to alot of things concerning hounds. First and foremost he understood scent and how it worked. I wounder how much money he took from those guys sending them off on horseback and letting Ol Rufus and Sluth find them. But then again they thought scent was left in the foot prints. Then he achieve another challange they said couldn't be done. They said you couldn't train a bloodhound or hounds in general to mind. His hounds followed him into town and stayed by his horse while he ran errands. Never leaving until told. Those hounds also would track anything he put them on. Some people still have not learned what Montague knew centeries ago.

[not color blind]

R.M., that's what I took was his "secret", the liaison dogs. They were like his "tracking box", except no short cuts.

[Mike Leonard]

It is my favorite hound book and after re-reading it a number of times I have gleaned more from that book and the Slash Ranch hound book than any other book until John Kiblers new book game out. I mean these books have depth if you really study them. They are not just a show and tell book or a breif history lesson like Dale Lees or Del Cameron's books they have some real meat in them on the subject matter.

The laison dogs are not the secret I thought so as well for a long time but they are not what he is referring to. And that is why I mean it is very deep. I would like to throw out the challenge and see who can re -read that book and come up with the secret he is referring too. It is a mind blowing thing and it took me a long time to really grasp it. I had to see it myself.

Laison dogs were very common in the days before tracking collars. Old Ben Lilly always had a laison dog tied to his waist. He was hard of hearing and that dog would use ears and nose to lead him after the pack.

[Big N' Blue]

Mike,
Am sure glad to see you mention Jon Kibler's book! It was one of the best reads i have read on dry ground hunting and with the little experience i have had it really explained alot of the things that Russell and I have experienced.
I highly recommend this book to everyone. Have my wife looking for a copy of the Stevens book so i will know what ya'll are talking about.

Best regards,

[Mike Leonard]

http://www.high-lonesomebooks.com/cgi-b ... index.html


Order the book from Dutch Salmon at High Lonesome books silver City, New Mexico.

Tell Dutch Mike Leonard in Aztec recommended him, and he will charge you double. LOL!

[Dan Edwards]

He says its the secret, Mike but I dont know if I believe it or not. I guess I believe it but I just dont like it.

Oh ya, we aint bros or nothin really but I think you know me well enough at least on here to know that I know what you are talkin about just by reading my extremely vague answer.

[Mike Leonard]

Yep I do.

[R Severe]

I got the book back when I'd only had dogs for a few years. I got less than 1/4 of whats in the book, maybe way less. I knew there was lots of dog info I was missing by the horse info I was getting. The light has come on several times over the years on dog info in the book.
I'm due for another trip thru the pages, seems the good ones are better the second or third read.

Can't wait to read the one we're gonna talk Mike into writing

[Mike Leonard]

I forgot to mention the theory Stevens had on handling horses, and the proper use of horses in hunting. He was light years ahead of the crowd. But he spent time stopping to think about these things.

I had a ranch forman hunting lions with me awhile back. He was green when it came to lion hunting but was a very good horseman and most of his life had been spent around horses and cattle. His summer months for years have been spent in high mountain camps with his horses and his cow dogs. One day in particular he was riding a stallion. Now this was a fine looking red horse out of an own son of Two Eyed Jack. Now this old stud I believe was 12 didn't act like your usual stud horse. He was quiet, settled, and when we stopped he just jerked the head stall off him and let him graze ground tied and he never moved more than a foot or two . I said Charlie it's easy to see you have spent a lot of time in camp with that old stud. He said yep we spend the summers together up high and he has to listen to me when I haven't got anybody but him and my border collies close to camp. I said do you have to send them collies to fetch him up in the morning? He said no he wakes me up banging on the porch of the cabin at the same time every day because we take our coffee together of a morning. I said he drinks coffee? He said nope but I give him just a coffee cup full of oats and I have my coffee and then we go to work. I think he likes his job.

Now that little analogy right there tells you a lot about horses, dogs and humans learning each other and working together instead of against one another. It is a natural thing but it doesn't come natural to most right off.

[bearsnva]

It is a natural thing but it doesn't come natural to most right off.-M Leonard

Mike, I think that comment says more in few words than most entire posts do. Good one.