Iowa voter. [volume] (Knoxville, Iowa) 1867-1874, 1871-10-05

times the dog viii show Tor seveTai uass
that there Is something wrong Win him,
moping and stunning those OF whom nc
has hitherto been foncest, while at other
Zines. a. in the case just given, itcomes on
with q frighsful sud 1enness. The eminent
philanthropist, Sir T. F. Buxton, who was
q great and good man in private as well as
In public, hsd truly terrible adventure
with 8 large and favorite dog He was
r;dinp on horseback TO London one morn
inc. from the vicinity Of Hampstead,
vhen he heard great hubbub as he came
through the village. and, to his horror,
| found that his own dog, which he had left
behind him. had broken out and, raying
mad, was biting at every thing near Mr..
Buxton saw him bite at least dozen dogs
and several human beings. In vain did
his master ride after him, and shout at or
try to coax him; the brute no longer
obeyed the familiar voice As they ap-
preached London the idea of the mischief
he would do in the crowded streets became
90 overpoweriDg that his master decided
that 1t was his duty TO run every risk, and
TO capture him at any hazard; and the dog
fortunately turning up drive which led
TO some lodge-gate, Mr.. Buxton sprang
from his horse and clasped the raving mad
Newfoundland dog round the neck! After
desperate struggle he dragged the animal
close enough to enable him TO ring the
bell, and the gardener opened the lodge
gate, Mr.. Buxton, with his permission,
forced the dog into the garden, and chain
having been procured 1t was fastened TO
the dogs collar and to tree. This part is
best told in Mr. Buttons own weyds:
IL made the gardener, who was in ter
rible fright, secure the collar round his
neck, and fix the other end of the chain to
tree, and then, walking TO its fnrthest
range, with all my force, which was nearly
exhausted by his frantic struggles, | flung
him away from me and sprang back. He
made desperate bound after me; but
finding himself foiled, he uttered the most
fearful yell ever heard. All that day he
did nothing but rush to and fro, champing
the foam which gushed from his jaws.
We threw him meat, and he snatched at it
with fury. but instantly dropped it again
"The next day, when | went To see him,
I thought the chain seemed worn, go
pinned him TO the ground between the
prongs Of pitchiork, and then fixed a
much larger chain around his neck When
pulled away the fork, he sprang up and
made dash at me, which snapped the old
chain in two. He died in forty. eight hours
from the time he went mad"
Some might call this heroism but If
any Of my readers should be placed in a
similar strait, the more desirable plan
would be TO have the poor brute de-
stroyed
MY next illustration is not generally
known (5ir T. +. Buxton's probably u.s.
which has prevented me from dwelling SO
much on the details as his bravery de-
serves), but as was acquainted with the
chief actor, can vouch for its truth. II
somewhat less thrilling than the last in
stance, it nevertheless demanded very firm
nerves, and shows the inestimable value of
presence of mind. Some years ago large
dog, In state of furious madness, was dis
covered running about the streets at the
West End of London. OF course the
alarm and excitement spread, and
crowd of men and boys followed It, A
butcher was standing at the door Of his
shop when the rabid beast entered the
street, and the man as he stood there was
right In the track The crowd shouted TO
him to get out of the way; but In lieu of
doing 30, the butcher coolly detached his
steel AN implement with which every
reader Is familiar In the larger size which
IL takes when for professional and not do
mestic use-from his apron, and planted
himself In the center Of the pathway.
Swapping viciously, with whitened jaws,
at everything near, the dog came on, and
when close to the butcher, sprang at him
to seize him; but as he opened his savage
teeth the man stepped forward, and, hold
ing his weapon with q firm grip, drove
the steel right down the brute's throat al
h. 10 Z <N<
course close to the fatal fangs; but these
were harmless now, for the dog fell dead
at his feet. There are many men who
would rather have faced line Of bayonets
than have done such deed as this; and
many man has been praised to the skies
and rewarded for less courageous act.
Without breaking my resolution of not
entering upon the medical questions con-
nected with hydroDhobia, may allude to
the agonizing uncertainty which haunts a
person who is bitten by a mad dog. OF
all poisons ever known the virus is the
most capricious, most unaccOuntable in its
actions. The blood-poison, to which it is
most often compared--thc bite of SER
pent-is really more of contrast than
comparison; the one Is so certain and
regular in its effect, the other SO uncertain
III tlulCt VI CFCi III Oily luJuly lCbuibluH ~
all. None Of the men bitten by Sir 7. +.
Buxton's dog ever went mad. l have
known child arm torn and bitten To the
bone by dog outrageously rabid, and the
child did not suffer any more than it
would have done from any other injury of
equal extent. There have been frequent
instances Of where dog has bitten great
number of human beings, and one has
gone mad while the rest have escaped; on
the o ther hand, / have also known very
slight puncture from dog not suspected
to be rabid, bring on the most deadly mad
ness. The treatment Of hydrophobia is
Just as unsettled az the disease itself A
surgeon once treated very bad bite on
his own hand, inflicted by dog that, at
any rate, was infuristed, which not only
presented some very ugly symptoms, but
menaced, 1 fancied, the worst results. He
used water only; he kept constantly
saturated pad OF linen on the bite, and he
got quite we'll. But the value of such ev-
idence as this is diminished by its being
impossible to say whether hydrophobia
would have set in If the wound had been
left to itself.
As rule, mad dog will not 90 out of
its way to bite you. It is rarely so fero-
l. II. = - - 1~..t