"red herring"

[justcarol67]

kemper mentor wrote:
> Ok JC,
> I was at my local Powell's bookstore and looked up 'red herring' in
their compressed OED in two volumes, where four pages are printed on
one page so obviously the print was a bit wee.  It list 'red herring'
'to attempt to divert attention from the real question' first be used
in this way in 1686, well before Doyle.  The quote they have is "to
draw a red herring across the track. --cf quot. 1686 in Ib'
> My understanding after reading up a bit on 'red herring' is that red
herring was used to train dogs to track a scent of game or people. 
Those evading capture would use red herring--smoked herring-- to throw
off the hounds.
> I hope you find this a satisfying response to your query.

Carol responds:
Thanks. I appreciate your going to the OED, but as I indicated in my
original post, I already know about that particular use of the term.
The quote I'm looking for is the first one that relates to the use of
"red herring" to denote a false clue in a mystery story.

BTW, I was confused for a moment by "JC." Just call me Carol. :-)

Thanks,
Carol