The true northerner. [volume] (Paw Paw, Mich.) 1855-1920, 1877-08-10

die If my mother sold Frisky- Tail. \, .sa
!" But my father says, she emit afford
TO buy him hay and oats. III persisted the
small neighbor. lie.'
"Well, 1 guess he don't care mnch
about that" spoke up John. Hes
such clever horse that he can live on
most anything. Why, once when my
father borrowed wagon to go to Aunt
Sally's, and my sister made bow of her
best ribbon and fixed it on his head, he
knew it was Sunday just as well as any
of us. And when my father went In the
house to see what made mother 80 long
putting on her bonnet, if he didn't walk
up the hill with the rest of the folks, and
want to go to church. h.
x" Uff that's nothingp ,snorted the
little neighbor through his nose. My
uncle in the country has horse that
they don't have to put in the shafts at
all he just backs in himself"
John was momentarily silenced, and
demanded proof. N y
SHOW does he know they want him
in ?" he asked.
"Don't he have his harness on, and
don't he know what that means" de-
manded the other triumphantly. s. -
A man was coming up the road with a
whip in his hand. He asked for the
widow of the dump-cart man.
ut" guess he's come to buy your horse,
said the little neighbor, and the children
were dumb with fear ru
He remained long time in the poor
cottage; and when the widow came to
the door with him she was crying, though
oh ~, k,1o Il o- +oo,rsy Il, tl,n ho lu'G
dress. c
The man with the whip unfastened the
gate of the little field, and brought
Frisky-Tail to the cottage door,
you'll be real kind to him, L hope"
said the widow, with a pitiful attempt mt
smile. ''Itwould break the children's
hearts if they thought he would have to
suffer like some horses.
"Oh, I guess know how to use a
beast without being preached to-, said
the man.
John stepped forward and touched him
on the arm.
eff you will tell me your name, sir
he said, 81 will buy back Frisky-Tail
when / am man. He will live till that
time if you are kind to him, for he's only
my age-just 12." FfffH
The man laughed, and replied. "My
name is Jacob Dobbs; but you may as
we'll bid good-by to your old horse now
and forever, because by the time you
are a man there will be nothing left of
him but soap-grease !" he cried, giving
Frisky-Tail such cut with the whip that
the poor beast started down the road at
furious gallop. Jacob Dobbs ran after
him, and, when he had caught him by
the name he kicked him in the side,
saying;
"Ill soon cure you of your tricks, you
ugly old garran Not mouthful shall
you have to eat to-day for that -
Sure enough, poor Frisky-Tail got
nothing to eat till next morning, and
then only a small quantity of musty down.
east hay, enough to turn the stomach of
even horse. Then he was put to haul
ing stones, and beaten cruelty whenever
he halted, or didn't understand the or
ders of his new master. Sunday brought
no rest for Frisky-Tail, for Jacob Dobbs
drove him ten miles to see butchers
daughter, and left him standing in q
back yard all the afternoon, exposed to
the sun and the butchers flies.
Work, cruelty and half-starvation was
Frisky Tails lot from this time forth, till
one hot day he quite unexpectedly fell
down in the dusty road, and could not
get up again. Jacob kicked him, and
struck him on sore shoulder, but it was
no use, and he had to call help to lift
poor Frisky-Ta to his feet.
The horse could drag along but slowly
for some days after this, and Jacob got
SO mad and scratched his head so hard
that new idea came into it. He thought
of patent way of making poor Frisky-
tail step out more briskly. He got n
wild brier bush and hung it over the
front of the cart in such manner that at
every movement OF the horse tine thorns
would prick him.
When this wicked arrangement was
fixed, Jacob Dobbs got up on the cart,
and started the horse with q cut of the
whip. Frisky-Tail did not know what to
make OF the first sharp sting, and natur-
ally struck out with his heels, which
only made matters worse. Jacob laughed
and laid on the whip again, when Frisky-
Tail broke into terrified gallop. Jacobs
cowardly heart would have ceased to
beat could he have seen that the breast
of the clumsy headed horse was dashed
with blood-streaked foam, and that his
eyes were like two great balls of fire.
Another cart came into view In sud-
den turn of the narrow road. Jacob
shouted to its driver to observe what a
fine patent he had invented for lazy
horses, but the other driver did not
seem to think much of it, for IN another
moment tie teams had run together,
and Jacob was thrown on the top of a
spiked fence. THE horse was pierced to
the heart with the shaft of the opposing
cart. Jacob Dobbs was crippled for life
which served him right, but poor old
Frisky-Tail had gained his freedom and
was at rest.
1t was to punish such men as Dobbs
that the society with the long name
"The Society for the Prevention of Cru
city to Animals was formed, and if
the horses, and cattle, and other animals
and birds that it befriends, could speak,
/ am sure they would more than look
their thanks, as have often seen them
do. But the .cartman's children were
kind to the horse because they loved
him-and that ia the surest and hest