American citizen. [volume] (Canton, Miss.) 1864-1890, 1872-06-22
The Shepherds Dog.

He will, though such dogs are rare, run
over the back of flock to head them in
lane, jump the hedge to present his
grim features at a gap ahead, or drive
them as his master walks in front. He
will keep them from a defined piece of
pasture or as his master sets the evening
fold, confine them to the old boundary.
These last are the ordinary duties of the
sheep dog; the first may be looked upon
as an exceptional refinement, which
would raise dog five shillings or SO in
the estimation of his master but now
and then he gives proofs of devotion and
intelligence far surprising the bounds of
instinct. l remember a case in point.
The dog belonged to a shepherd whom all
our large agriculturists coveted, but never
could keep after his years service had ex-
pired, because of his drunken habits, or
rather his fits of drunkenness. No mans
sheep throve so well no one reared SO
more devoted to his flock. He had that
natural gift of attracting animals to him,
and attaching them to him also, which
can neither be impaired nor acquired, and
his dogs were the best for miles around.
At last, having lost the confidence of the
leading farmers, he might have got a
place with some little two or three hun
dred acre farmer but such preferment he
despised so he turned drover, and he
as a puppy, at Salisbury market, for
a pint of beer and the promise of
shilling, as he informed me, set off to-
gether. One autumn evening he was
leaving Weyhili Fair with a flock of
something like three hundred sheep, and
walking for some point about twenty-five
miles to the west, when it came on to
blow just as the sun was going down, and
before they had got seven miles on the
road he was wet through, and it was near
ly dark. II couldn't see the flock, but as
I walked in front, could hear Quick bark
now and then" he told me, "and l war
rant they were all right, and just on the
left hand there was little public-house.
thought give it in his own words
''there could be no harm in having one
glass of beer" Zone glass in the vernacular
means one GALLON. 81 suppose" he con-
tinued, that I must have tied the dog to
the sign-po but l don't remember it, and
l stayed about an hour" this in the YER
nacular for three hours at least, "and
found from the landlord that could turn
in the sheep for the night and get shake
down myself. 1t was raining worse than
ever when l came out and the first thing
l saw was the old dog Well, that put
me out of temper, for l thought he had
let the sheep run back, as they will; so
sung out to him to go after them, and
turned in to have another glass till he
came back l came ont in quarter of
an hour, and there he was, wagging
his stump of tail, and not gone.
thought, as l sat in the chimney-corner,
l heard him bark, and made no more to
do, but threw the crook at him, as | gen
orally did, and, by bad luck, broke. his
fore-leg. When the poor thing began TO
cry out, the landlord began to abuse me;
and when they brought the light, there
were the sheep all lying under the hedge,
as quiet as could be. They declared l
shouldn't go on, nor the dog either; but l
did, and old Quick hoped after me. l
don't remember nothing else but trying
to find the field to put the sheep in; but
just before the light broke l was awoke
by the policeman throwing his bulPs-eye
on me. He told me he heard the dog
barking, and that when he came to within
fifty yards there was the dog lying on my
breast, calling for help like Christian.
I was sober then, and made two rough
splints and bandage, and did Quich's leg
up in rough way; and I've never struck
a dog since, nor drank anything either,
and l never will, and I've bought two
cottages out of my savings" What be-
came of the old dogg" "Oh, l kept him
till he died, though for six months he was
stone blind That's his grandson by the
fold, keeping my sheep off the young
clover. Tile Dog, By IdstOne.