The Toledo chronicle. [volume] (Toledo, Tama County, Iowa) 1873-1924, 1877-05-03
Dogs In Da1Aaseus.

Sitting in my window ct Dimitris-a
window over which the green blinds
droop like rustic eaves-I watch the street
travel and traffic, andagain recall the de-
lightful pages of g The Arabian Nights. y
1t is impossible not to do so in Damascus
or in Cairo. Every figure that passes you
is the living image of some hero or heroine
IN those immortal tales But not only the
fine animals, the gorgeous trappings that
literally cover the proud-stepping 'steeds
and hang nearly to the ground; not only
the shapeless bundles of ry-gcods with q
woman at the core of them, the donkeys
that trot past with their boy masters in
breathless pursuit, or the camels that eve
me scornfully a. they stalk by with their
humps as high as my first floor front win
dow-not only are these enough to amusc
one for hours and hours and hours, but the
dogs of Damascus are feature not to be
overlooked. believe there are more of
them here than in any other city of the
East; l find them greater amusement
and annoyance, at any rate, and have
studied them more carefully in this Mo
hammedan city, for they are Christians,
and G0gs of much character, From my
window, looking up a street in front Of
me and down another street at right and left
angles to the former, perhaps fifty PAGES in
each direction, / have counted twenty
seven dogs lying asleep in the middle of
the way. Camels and horses step over
them; donkeys turn out for them; men
scorn to recognize their presence; chill
Gren kick them; beat them with sticks and
throw missiles at them, but the dogs only
raise their heads, give yelp of pain and
drop off to sleep again. They sleep most
of the day, and no wonder they sit up all
night to bark. OF the unnumbered mill
ions of dogs that l have arrested and
cross-examined, I don't remember one
that was without blemish. They are bald
in spots, weak -jointed, blear-eyed, seedy-
looking creatures. No one owns them;
no one cares for them. They live upon
the offal that is heaped in the streets after
dark, and they must fight for their share
of it. Each dog has his district, as well
as his day. He may travel up and down
certain streets, known well enough to
himself and his enemies, and he may
stand close to the border line and make
mouths at the dogs over the way; he
may say as many saucy and wicked things
as he chooses SO long as he remains on his
own ground but let him venture yard
over the dividing line and forty foreigners
will set upon and rend him limb for limb.
! have seen a sickly and feverish cur
steal noiselessly into the enemy's camp to
slake his thirst at a neigh6oring fountain.
While the poor wretch was drinking, 1
wondered how he could swallow with
his tail curled down so tightly.
While he Tapped greedy mouthfuls his
presence was discovered, and he was at
once surrounded. A hop, skip and a
jump would have brought him to his ma
tive heath, and then it would have been
his turn to bark, but he was seized at
once by a dozen cowardly ours, who
dragged him hither and tbither and would
have dcyoured him alive; but that. his
eries and the general hubbub brought
down his tribe TO the rescue. He was
saved, poor thing, and linped home in
the pitch Of battle, when no one was
looking; but his ears were torn to shreds,
and ne was so full of holes that, had you
slipped him into that fatal fountain again,
he would have filed and sunk in about
ten seconds. The dogs are the night po-
lice of Damascus. 1t is not safe to ven
ture forth after dark without the long
paper lantern lighting your steps. In
deed, there is law compelling all pedes-
trians to keep their lamps trimmed and
burning. A story ID told Of foolish
virgin, OF smuggler, possibly; at any
rate, it relates to one who ventured ont
alone in the dark streets Of the city. His
steps were heard, the alarm was sounded,
and in three minutes he was covered ten
feet deep with dogs. In the morning,
when the row was over and the san was
up, there was nothing left to tell the tale
but pair Of gloves and some sole leather
The cry Of these animals is terrific, but
it is inccssant, and is, therefore, unno-
tfced.-C. ". Stod1ard, in Letter to San
Fyancisco Chronicle.