Wilmington daily commercial., 1873-05-05
How a Dog Fought a Mad Woman.
STORY FROM oALIFoRNIA-THE LAWYERS BRAVE
NEMFoUNpLAND.

A STORY FROM CALIFoRNIA-THE LAWYERS BRAVE
NEWFOUNDLAND.
The Missouri Republican relates the following
dog story: certain lawyer in San Francisco
has wife, a nurse girl, whole housefull of
small children, and a large Newfoundland dog
as a playmate for the little ones. 1t was not
known until lately that the dog had any other
merits than doggish attachment to the family,
II kind, playful disposition and good appetite
A startling exigency arose, and he became the
brave defender of that family.
The lawyer has a near neighbor whose wife IL
afflicted with mild type of insanity. The un-
fortunate woman was supposed to be perfectly
harmless, and her husband kept her with him.
She was an object of mournful interest in the
neighborhood, 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 children--left in charge of
the nurse girl-were romping with the dog-there
was violent knocking at the door, which start
led the whole house. The nurse girl went to
the door, and the children crowded around her.
and the dog was there too, with an expression
of interest on his countenance. When the door
was opened the crazy woman forced her way in
to the hall, looking very much excited. She
talted and looked wild, and was evidently raving
mad.
Inc dog knew her, and appearing also to know
hat there was something wrong on foot, he
crowded in between the akrighted 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
addressed to her, seized the girl by the hair,
and dragged her down, and finally clutched her
throat and commenced strangng her. The girl
was 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 CO.
The nurse girl then boltod tho door, and the now
doubly-enraged woman began to throw stones
and break the windows, and finally got an axe
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, andleaving the dog to guard the
house, went out by back door and hastened to
the lawyers office.
The madwoman, hearing the children shriek-
ing in the back part of the house and the bark
ing of the dog in the same direction, left the
front door and went around to the rear of the
house. She saw the chidren's faces huddled to-
gether in the window, and made fresh attack
She broke the window all to pieces and tried to
get ir by it, bnt the opening was a little too high
and she had no ladder. The terror of the child
rem during this scene can probably be imagined.
They heard their friend, the dog, at the door out
side, and there he faithfully stayed, protesting
against the riotous proceeding with his deep
toned voice. Presently the baifled maniac mado
her way through the back door with her axe, and
stood face to face with the foe that had previous
ly 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 siege.