The Vancouver independent. (Vancouver, W.T. [Wash.]) 1875-1910, 1878-10-03
Saved BY q Dog.


which we have heard, say Messrs. Cham
bers in their "Anecdotes of Dogs" OF
sagacity and personal attachment in the
shepherds dog, occurred about a half
century ago among the Grampian noun
tains. In one of his excursions to his
distant focks, shepherd took with him
one of his children. After traversing
the hills for some time, attended by his
dog, the shepherd found himself under
the necessity of ascending summit
some distance to have a more extensive
view of his range. As the ascent was
too fatiguing for the child, he left him
on small plain at the bottom, with the
strict injunction not to stir from it till
his return. Scarcely, however, had he
gained the summit, when the horizon
was suddenly darkened by one of those
impenetrable msts which frequently
descend so rapidly among these noun
tains as, in the space of few moments,
almost to turn day into night. The
anxious father FASTENED back to find his
child, but owing to the unusual darkness
and his own trepidation, he unfortunately
missed his way in the descent. After a
the dangerous morasses and cataracts
with which these mountains abound, he
was at last overtaken by night. Still
wandering on without knowing whittier,
he at length came to the verge of the
mist. and by the light of the moon dis
covered that he had reached the bottom
of the valley, and was within short dis
lance of his cottage. To renew the
search that night was equally fruitless
and dangerous. He was therefore obliged
to return to his cottage, having lost both
his child and his dog, which had attended
him faithfully for years. Next morning,
by aybrcak, the shepherd, accompanied
by band of his neighbors, set out in
search of his child; but after day spent
in truitless fatigue, he was at last com
PEELED by the approach of night to de-
scend from the mountain. On returning
to his cottage he found that the dog
which he had lost the day before had been
home, and on receiving piece of cake,
had instantly started off again. For
several successive days the shepherd re-
newed the search for the child, and still
on returning at evening disappointed to
his cottage, he found that the dog had
been home, and on receiving his usual
peared. Struck with this singular cir
cumstancc, he remained at home one day,
and when the dog as usual departed with
his piece of cake, he resolved to follow
him and find out the cause of his strange
procedure. The dog led the way to a
cataract at some distance from the spot
where the shepherd had left lis child.
The banks of the cataract almost Joined
at the top, yet, separated by an abyss of
an immense depth. presented that appear
ance which so often astonishes and appals
the travellers who frequent the Grampian
mountains, and indicates that these stu
pendous chasms were not the silent work
of time but the sudden effect of some
violent CONFUSION of the earth. Down
one of these rugged and almost perpen-
dicular descents the dog began without
hesitation to make his way, and at last
disappeared into a cave, the mouth OF
which was almost upon level with the
torrent. The shepherd with difficulty
followed. but on entering the cave, what
were his emotions when he beheld his
child eating with much satisfaction the
cake which the deg had just brought him,
while the faithful animal stood by cycling
his young charge with the utmost com
placence. From the situation in which
the child was found, it appears that he
had wandered to the brink of the prec-
pice, and then either fallen or scrambled
down till he reached the cave, which the
dread of the torrent had afterward pre-
vented him from quitting. The dog, by
means of his scent, had traced him to
the spot, and afterwards prevented him
from starving by giving up to him his
own daily allowance. He appeared never
TO have quilted the child by night or day,
except when it was necessary to go for
his food, and then he was always seen
running at full speed to and from the
cottage.