, 1865-03-10
Dog Fight in Frogtown.

There is an excellent moral to the following
story, which is told with great skill 1t show.
us how a whole village is sometimes torn tC
pieces by fight between two puppies
The most remarkable dog fight on record came
off at Frogtown, on the frontier Of Maine, some
years ago 1t engrossed the entire community
in one indiscriminate melee-interminable law
suits or suits of law-dstraction Of the town, it;
downfall or ruin.
A fanciful genius, named Joe Tucker, mar
about town, a lounger, without visible means o
support dO-nOthing, lOafng, cigar-smOkng
good natured fellow, owned dog; a sleek, in
telligent and rather pretty beast, always Al
Joe's heels and known as well as his master
and liked far more by the Frogtowners One day
Joe and his dog were passing Bunion grocery
store, when piebald, ugly-looking dog, stand
ing alongside wood wagon, bounded on to Joe
Tucker dog-knOcked him heels over head
and so frightened Bob Carter wife who was
passing towards her husbands blacksmith shop
with his dinner, that she stumbled backwards
and her old bonnet Topping off scared the
horse attached to the wagon. lie started, hit
Latherm barber pole, upset load Of wood, all
of which falling down Gumbo' refreshment cell
lar, struck one Of GumbOs children on the head,
killed it for a short time stone dead, and so
alarmed Mrs Gumbo that she dropped a stew
pan Of boiling hot oysters into the lap instead
of the dish of the customer who sat waiting for
the savory concOction by a table in the corner.
Mrs Gumbo rushed for the child; the customer
for the door. Mrs Gumbo screamed, the child
screamed and the customer yelled
'Oh, OH oh-oh-oh my poor child" cried Mrs.
Gumbo.
'Eh, e-he-e-e-e, screamed the poor child.
Oh, murder-r-rl Oh, my everlasting sir, I'm
sealded to all eternityl Murder Murderr roared
the poor customer
The horse, part Of the wagon, and some
wood were in their mad career The owner of
the strange dog came out of the store just in
time to see Joe Tucker seize a rock to demolish
the savage dog: and not waiting to see Joe let
drive, gave him such a pop on the back Of the
head, that poor Joe fell forty rods up street. and
striking long ladder upon which jim Ederby
was perched, paint-pot in hand, some thirty feet
from terra frma, brought ladder, Jim and paint
pot sprawling to the earth, Gripping poor Jim
for life and sprinkling paint over the broad
cloths, sattinets and calicOs of Abraham Miller,
a formal and eTen-tempered Quaker, who ran
out to the door just as the dogs had got fairly at
it, hip and thigh, nip and catch. A glance at
matters seemed to convince Abraham of the
true state of the case, and in an unusually ele-
vated tone of voice, Abraham called out to Joe
Tucker, who had righted up,
Joseph Tucker, thy dogs a ightingp
Let 'em fight it out yelled the pugnacious
owner of the strange dog. Let EN- fight it out;
III bet a load of wood that my dog can eat
any dog in town-and l can eat his owner"
We have said Abraham Miller was quiet man:
Quakers are proyerbially so. But the gauntlet
thrown down by the stranger from the country
stirred the gall of Abraham, and he rushed into
the store. From the back yard, having slipped
his collar Abraham brought forth a brindle cur,
strong long, and powerful.
Friend, said the excited Quaker, thy dog
shall be well beaten, l promise theel Hyke,
seize upon himP'
'"Turk, here, boy, and the dogs went at it.
Bob Carter, the smith, coming up in time to
hear the strangers defiance to the town. and
bent on a fight with somebody for the insult and
damage done to his wife, clamped the collar of
the stranger and by a series of ten-pound-ten
upon the face, back and sides of his bully antag-
onist, with his natural sledge-hammers, Bob
stirred up the strength and ire ftheb bully stran-
ger to the top of his compass, and they made the
sparks fly dreadfully.
Joe fuckers dog, reinforced by Abraham
Millers dog took fresh start, and between the
two the strange dog was being brought cruelty to
his trumps. Deacon Pugh, one of the most pious
and substantial men in Frogtown, came up, and
indeed, the whole town was assembling; and
Deacon Pugh, armed with a heavy walking
stick and schocked at the spectacle before him,
marched up to the dogs, exclaiming as he did 50