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"Come on, Nick! You can do this. Find the bad man. Smell
this. This belongs to the Bad ... Man," coaxed Captain
Mullikin. Captain Mullikin was busy training Nick to do
the job of tracking down criminals. Almost
immediately, Nick ran off through the swamps and heavy
undergrowth followed closely by the team of detectives.
The team knew that it was a matter of time before the
criminal would be caught. Nick had never let them down.
Nick Carter was born in 1899 in the state of
Kentucky. He was known as the `finest tracking dog in
the world.' A bloodhound, he was involved in more than
600 investigations that resulted in criminal
convictions. He had, within a single year, helped to
solve 78% of the crimes committed in the country.
Nick's master, Captain Mullikin, specialized in
breeding and training bloodhounds for the sole purpose
of tracking down criminals. Although he and Nick worked
in Kentucky most of the time, they were often called
upon to help solve cases in the other states.
Nick had an incredible sense of smell. This enabled
him to capture all kinds of criminals - murderers,
robbers, arsonists or thieves. He also worked on
investigations into missing persons. The relentless
tracker pursued his prey through all kinds of weather,
over mountains and across valleys. No matter how many
times the trail was lost, Nick would never quit until he
picked up the scent again. There was one instance when
Nick had to travel some 75 kilometers before catching
three men who had robbed a post office safe. The men
tried to escape by winding their way through hilly
regions and wading through creeks and streams. Nick lost
the scent three times but eventually caught up with
them.
Stories about Nick never failed to include two of his
cases where he showed remarkable ability. One involved
an arsonist who burned down a hen-house. The trail that
Nick followed was more than 105 years old and Nick set
the record for combing the oldest trail in the country.
The arsonist was apprehended about 1.5 kilometers away.
The second case involved a mentally-disturbed woman who
planned to kill her children. She tied the children up
in the chicken coop and left to sharpen an axe which she
intended to use as a weapon. A neighbor discovered the
children and saved them. However, the children dared not
tell the police that their mother intended to kill them.
Nick, called in by the police, simply sniffed at the
rope and walked to where the mother was standing. The
mother immediately confessed and was later sent to a
mental home. That was one of Nick's simplest cases.
Nick left behind his lady love and fellow bloodhound
detective, Iva Belle, who produced a litter of nine
puppies. The litter was trained to be in the same
profession. This made Captain Mullikin very
happy. |
