The weekly north Iowa times. [volume] (McGregor, Iowa) 1857-1867, 1862-01-29

other day, We resurrected the following
spicy bulletin from the racy pen Of Judg'
Price, Of this county. Through what chair
Of circumstances this MS came to such ar
untimely burial, and the "curs Of all de-
gree" to such exemption from timely
warning, only those who have sat in the
editors chair can understand. We owe
our contributor an amcnde, which shall be
paid next time he will report himself in
our sanctum. He will therefore please take
due notice, and govern himself according
ly:
An Address.
To the mongrel Puppy, Whelps, Hound
and Cus Of all degrees -
On the evening Of Thursday, Oct. the
oath, in the year Of our Lord 1861, several
members Of your canine family cla,nbered
over the plank fence that surrounds our
barn-yard, and then and there killed two
Of our sheep,-mortally wounding one
other, and inflicted sundry and divers
wounds upon three lambs that had almost
attained the stature Of shccp.hood.
In prefering this charge against certain
members Of your family, We will frankly
admit that we did not see them commit the
wrong that we have sustained. But hav.
ing resided some twenty seven years in
Northern Iowa-depending portion Of
that time upon our rife for food-we claim
to be familiar with the footprint of the
Dog, the Wolf, the Lynx, the Panther, and
the Bear; and Of every other animal that
has prowled through the forest or roamed
over the prairies of Northern Iowa.
And we have no hesitation in saying
that on the evening our sheep departed this
life, the footprints in our barn yard were
made by members OF your family. "To
prove this, let facts be submitted to can
did world" On the evening following the
night that our sheep were coverted into
mutton, we went into the hay loft of our
barn and threw up breastwork of hay
across an open doorway that looked
towards the south and the mangled remains
of eve that had yielded four pounds of
wool-given birth to two lambs and sue
cessfully raised them during the present
year. Behind this barricadc, armed with a
double barrel gun, we assumed the reclining
posture of vigilant sentinel.
1t was an Indian summer evening, a
balmy south wind stirred with fitful gusts
the autumnal leaves that rustled in the
oaken grove. The stars glimmcred lazily
through smoky atmosphere, lighting up
imperfectly surrounding objects. The
night-hawk had hushed her wing and flown
to other climes. The katy did no longer
piped her evening lay. It was autumn
the minstrefs of tho sum~er night had
gone, when presently We heard something
clambering over the barn-yard fence. In
moment after We discovered an animal
move boldly out from behind hay stack
and advance towards the sheep without
apparently looking to the right or left As
soon as he had commenced his evening re-
past, we leveled upon him and fred. The
blaze from the exploded powder so dimned
our sight for time that we could see no
surrounding object; but we could distinct
ly hear the patting of a tail upon the ground
We took courage and descended to the field
of slaughter and there lay dog No. La
black dog with yellow legs, he had al
ready "passed to that canine bourne from
whence no cur has ever returned" We
seized him by the handle, drew him across
the yard and lay him upon pile Of stone,
reloaded our gun and resumed our place
behind the brcastwork. The hours of the
night passed slowly and silently away, un-
til at length the moon began to twinkle
through the trees that crown the distant
summit Of Welling's hill, and soon she rose
above the forest top, dimning the lustre of
her starry train, and shedding her quecnly
light on all things around, particularly upon
the CORY, glistsning face of that yellow leg
ed dog, who now ''like Marius amidst the
ruins of Carthage" seemed to be setting
upon that stone pile, contemplating the
distant mutton of sheep that during the
last per annum, had yielded four pounds of
wool and two lambs. Again there was
clambering over the fence, followed by the
lighting of some weighty animal upon the
ground within the yard, and soen there ap-
peared from among the stacks large
black dog, ruffled with white around the
neck. He was apparently dog of much
sagacity and experience in night forays.
After carefully scrutinizing the surrounding
objects of the yard, and seemingly satisfy
ing himself that there were no masked
batteries in the vicinity, he ventured eau
tiously upon the mutton. We touched the
trigger of the gun, when there went up
mournful, believing howl, such as aroused
the dreamy inmates Of pandemonium when
Hercules dragged the Cerberian dog from
its entrance and threw wide the gates that
opened upon the dominions of Pluto. But
another gun from our battery sent him ST.
lently along the spiritual pathway that
leads to dogdom. He, too, was placed by
the side of his comrade when for the third
time we mounted away behind our timo-
thy barricade. 1t was past the hour Of
midnight, and the shrill voice of chanti-
cleer was already announcing from the
nsighboring barn-yards, the coming Of Au-
roras' car. The moon had glided behind
cloud at the very moment that our eye de-
tected lark object creeping stealthily to-
wards the carcass. Again we touched the
trigger - there was loud report Of "vil.