American citizen. [volume] (Canton, Miss.) 1864-1890, 1873-05-10
A New Dog Story.

Ali read stories of sagacious dogs with
| interest. Here is a new one, and 1t has
the additional merit of being strictly true.
A certain lawyer in San Francisco has
wife, a nursegirI, a whole house full OF
small children, and large Newfoundland
dog as a playmate for the little ones. 1t
was not known until lately that the dog
had any other merits than dogglsh at
tachment to the family, a kind, playful
disposition and good appetite start
| ling exigency arose and he became the
! brave defender of that family.
| The lawyer has a near neighbor whose
wife Is afflicted with mild type of insan
| ity The unfortunate woman was sup
posed to be perfectly harmless, and her
husband kept her with him. She was an
object of mournful interest in the neigh
borhood and her vagaries sometimes
amused the children. Nobody ever
thought of her becoming dangerous. One
day When the lawyer was at his office and
his wife was out shopping, and the chill
dren, left in charge of the nurse-girl were
rompfng with the dog, there was violent
| knocking at the door which startled the
whole house. The nurse-girl went to the
door, and the children crowded around
her, and the dog was there too, with an ex7
preston of interest on his countenance-
When the door was opened the crazy
woman forced her way into the hall,
looking very much excited. She talked
loud and looked wild, and
was evidently raving mad. The dog knew
her, and appearing also to know that there
was something wrong on foot be crowded
in between the affrighted children and the
visitor, and commenced barking. The
nurse-girl not being alarmed, told him to
''get out" The maniac woman it seems
took the remark as addressed to her, seiz-
ed the girl by the hair, and dragged her
down, and finally clutched her throat and
n%r, hnr frIr
powerless in the hands of the maniac, and
the children ran screaming. The dog not
liking the course matters had taken,
sprang at the mad woman with open jaws,
and fastened upon her. She lOosened her
hold of the PROSTATE girl, and made her
way to the door in charge of the dog She
stepped outside, and the animal let her go.
The nurse girl then bolted the door, and
the now doubly enraged woman began to
throw stones and break the windows, and
finally got an ak and commenced hewIng
down the door, The house was in the
suburbs and no policeman was near. The
girl locked the terrified children in back
room, and leaving the dog. to guard the
house, went out by back door ana has
tened to the lawyers Office.
The mad woman, hearing the children
shrieking in the back part of the house
and the barking of the dog in the same
direction, left the front door and went
around to the rear OF the house one saw
the children's faces huddled together in
the window, and made a fresh attack. She
broke the window all to pieces and tried
to get in by it, but the opening was little
too high and she had no ladder. The ter
ror of the children during this season can
probably be imagined. They heard their
friend, the dog at the door outside, and
there he faithfully staid, protesting
against the riotous proceedings with his
desp-toned voice. Presently the bafffed
maniac made her way through the back
door with her ak, and stood face to lace
with the foe that had previously forbidden
her the house. He lay crouching at the
children's door, and there the lawyer
found him when he came, with sufficient
force to raise the seige. In a few hours the
mad woman became as quiet and inoffen-
sive as ever, but there has been a neigh
borhood meeting to consider the proprie
ty of reporting the danger and having her
sent to an asylum. That dog, doubtless,
thoroughly enjoyed the next play-time
with those children.