Tallyho!

Jerry Hodge is a Texas sportsman whose usual idea of a good time is venturing into the wild for a little game hunting. But in the spring of 1989, Hodge, vice chairman of the Texas board of criminal justice, invited two buddies to join him on what he called "the ultimate hunt." The quarry: a convict from the penitentiary.

While Hodge and his friends ate lunch, an inmate from the Huntsville prison was released on state property and told to "lay track" by crossing streams, walking in circles, and finally climbing a tree stump. Later a pack of baying hounds was let loose on the convict's trail. Hodge and his friends mounted horses to join in the chase. When located, the inmate was sitting on the stump, wearing a padded "fight suit" in the midst of the frenzied canines. To commemorate the good time, Hodge bought jackets, which were embroidered with the slogan THE ULTIMATE HUNT, and gave them to his two pals.

But the celebratory mood turned sour last week after the event was revealed by the press. Critics snarled at Hodge for taking nonprison officials along on the chase and for insensitivity in ordering the jackets. The fuss spilled into the Governor's race because Hodge also serves as Republican candidate Clayton Williams' spokesman on prison issues. His Democratic opponent, state Treasurer Ann Richards, started howling for Hodge's departure. State legislator Ron Wilson denounced the use of inmates as prey as "a slave sport." He vowed to introduce legislation to end the hunts, which take place several times a week at 25 of the state's 35 prisons.

Prison spokesman David Nunnelee claims chasing after "dog boys," as the prisoners are called, is necessary to hone the tracking skills of the 680 hounds used to run down escapees. Hodge ruefully concedes that the jackets were in bad taste, and has apologized for bringing nonprison officials on the hunt. He has even offered to "run the track" himself and have a pack of reporters chase after him. If the hunts are outlawed, those most disappointed might be the "dog boys." Prisoners who volunteer to be pursued have time cut from their sentences. And at least one former inmate described his experience as "a blast."