Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1872-10-10


Jip, nor Towser, nor Snap, nor Caesar,
nor Skyler, nor Skip, nor Mac, nor Dick.
The Ensign shouted them. His wife
repeated them coaXingly; and the crea-
ture sat bolt upright and looked in their
faces, and it seemed as if he could not
wait for the right one; as if he must speak
and tell them what it was. Oh, if they
would only hit upon it If ever a dog
wanted to speak, he did. If ever a dog
tried to, he did.
At last the old man cried out in despair.
" Wen, mother we shall have to name
him for ourselves; Well call him Jack,
man
That's itw cried the dog, starting up.
That is, he did not exactly say those
words, but he let them know. He sprung
into their faces, and lathered their hand
with his tongue, and hobbled about in
state OF distraction, quite crazy with de.
light. There was no doubt about it He
was lack.
They never saw day when they were
sorry they had taken in the outcast. He
was no beauty. His color was not pleas
ing; his ears were mutilated, his tail had
been nickcd; he was stiff in his geit
Neither did he possess any brilliant quqIi-
ties. He was rather a sad and reflective
dog; it seemed as if the memory of old
troubles oppressed him at times.
He made friends with no one out
side of the house. He remem-
bered the hard heartedness of the men
of that village, who in the day of his
distress punched him with their umbrellas
and poked him with their feet, and he
would have nothing to do with them. He
stayed by the jackmans.
The second winter after Jack went to
live W tn them, the Ensign took it into his
head to get lis wood from a distant
rough tract which he owned, more than
a mile from home. The sled-path was
very uneven, over boggy places, between
rocks, winding in and out through the
woods. 1t was not a safe undertaking
for an old man, and his wife protested;
but he was strong and well: he knew
every knoll and turn and difficult spot;
besides his oxen were perfectly brokers'
and then, he had Jack.
So daily they went Oft together, and in
a few hours returned in safety with
great load of wood, until one afternoon
as they were Jogging homeward, the sled
canted on a stone, and the uppcrmOst log
on the load rolled off on the EnsiEns
side, taking him unaware, knocked him
down and held him there wedGPd in be
ween the runner ana a huge boulder
v hich almost oyerhung the path.
AS he fell he instinctively shouted
whoa to the oxen, and they stopped at
once, then and there. If they had start
cd at all, the sideling load would have
been precipitated upon his head but,
trained and most obedicnt of creatures,
like all good oxen, they minded what was
said to them and halted with the topp
ling logs ready to roll off at the first
movement But, though they might
stand there all the afternoon, rs proba,
bly, they would, when night drew near
they would 90 home Besides, there was
no help in Hstm.
While this had been happening Jack
had been off carccring about the woods,
hunting hares and starting up partridges,
and having a most delightful time but
now when the Ensign Whistlcd for him,
he came bounding back to the sled, saw
what had happened, and that he could
MT get at his master, and started tor
home with the speed of race horse
Mother JaCkman saw him coming down
the road, and he seemed to her to be al.
most flying. His lameness did not hin,
der him hen. He cleared the ground like
q deer running for his life She knew
that something was the matter, and rush
cd to the door but instead Of stopping
there, he shot past and kept straight on
by several houses and shops, to the shoe
makers Meanwhile she caught up a
shawl and set out for the woods.
Jack had evidently gone through with
some process of reasoning, which brought
him to the conclusion that it was case
in which a woman could not help, not
even his own mistress. And so he sped
by everybody else to the one man who
had befriended him He burst into the
presence of the shoemaker, pulled at his
shirt sleeves, and ran to the door, whining
The man put on his coat and followed,
At the grocery store next door he stopped
long enough TO tell of the dogs conduct
then borrowed horse sleigh which stood
waiting while the owner was making pur-
chases, and drove on after Jack. Men
came out along the road until there wa5
quite party on the way, some in sleigbs
and some ON foot When the old lady
was overtakcn, she was picked up and
conveyed along.
Jack led the way. There stood the
patient oxen in their tracks; they had not
lifted so much as one Of their feet in all
that time. And there lay the Ensign,
quite insensible now, just where he had
fallen.
BY using the utmost prccaution, the
men succeeded in unloading the WOod-lt
was in logs. sled length, being the trunk
of great birch tree which the old man
had cut down and into lengths--and re-
sCung the prisoner.