Staunton vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1860-1896, 1880-10-22

This is the year for surprises, Maine |
the Republicans, Indiana sur
orised the Democrats and in November
will give the country general
surprise.
Proving q Dog-P Prisoners Good Character.
John M. Kinney, in Forest and Stream.
About the latter part Of August, in the
early part of the last decade. the writer
and eight or ten friends went on deer
hunt in Rockbridge county, Va, near
Goshen, on the Chesapeake and Ohio Rail
road, We we're placed at different points
on the Calf Pasture River, opposite the
long ridges leading to the top Of the
mountains, down which the deer came to
water after being run by the dogs. The
driver started in the mountain with the
dogs about suarise. and had waited at
my post until eleven O'Clock without hear
ing or seeing anything that indicated the
approach of deer. l was standing i'm
mediately upon the bank of the rlver-One
of those limpid mountain streams SO clear
that you can se6 the smallest pebble in the
bottom of tue deepest p0ol-watching the
little minnows playing about in the water,
when suddenly heard the bay of hound
in the direction of the woods. Secreting
myself behind large popular tree, l look
ed out in the direction of the sound, and
soon a tremendous buck leaped the fence
about 15O yards from me, into tobacco
patch, and headed right toward me. l
stood perfectly still, cooked my rifle, and
waited breathiessly for him to jump into
the water. But he came not; and becom-
ing impatient and uneasy at the delay, l
peeped again from my hiding place, and to
nv chagrin saw his back as he glided down
q washed-out place which ran parallel
with the river, about half way between
where he jumped the tence and my stand.
l watched him, with my gun to my face,
until he came out of the ''wash-out,"
about one hundred yards below me. 1
fired, and at the crack Of my gun he drop
ped, but soon recovered himself and ran
about one hundred yards, when the report
of q shotgun, and the excited yell OF a
member of our party, left no doubt that
he had been secured. l Immediately went
to the spot and found that my friend had
stood, and the noble hound was tapping
the blood as it poured from the immense
hole in his side.
While we were debating about the best
disposition to maze of this deer, and know
ing that the hound was not one of ours, a
gentleman rode rapidly down the bank of
the river to us. He soon informed US that
the dog was his, that he had been hunting
with another party about six miles below
us; that he had started the deer at day
light with that dog and two others, aud
had kept in hearing of him as well as he
could, until he heard us shoot. After
osme further parley he took from his sad
die q coupling, and putting one collar
around the dogs neck, and fastening the
other to small sapling. mounted his
horse, and requested us to look after his
dog while he went in pursuit of the other
two who had dropped out of the chase.
Before he left, however. said to him:
ssMr. Mohler, it is not safe to leave your
dog here. I understand there is an old
man, still-hunter, just across the river
here, who is in the habit of poisoning dogs,
and you had better take him with you"
He replied that he hardly reckoned he
would undertake to do such a thing right
before our eyes, and rode off.
He was scarcely out of sight when this
very old man and son appeared, guns In
hand, and stood around the deer, talking
of the long chase, the splendid dog, ETC.,
complimenting me at the same time on
the shot had made with the rifle (which
had cut the right horn clear off about half
an inch from the skull), and then turned
their attention again to the dog who was
lying in the grass close by. After little
while saw the old fellOw-Davis by name
quietly pull his hand out of his breeches
| pocket, and, as a boy shoots marble, shot
something like chunk of dried beef from
his fist into the grass, right at the nose OF
the dog. As he did so he turned to his
son, made some remark about going back
to the house, and started rapidly away,
followed by the boy. The instant saw
the motion made by him in giving the dog
the object, whatever it was that he had in
his hand, I made spring at the dog, but
found was too late to intercept him. He
had gotten whatever it was and had swal-
lowed it. / instantly informed my CON-
panion of what had happened, and re-
marked to him, "That' a dead dog!"
About this time we heard our dogs rum
| ming in the mountain, and fastened
back to my stand, charging my friend to
keep right by the dog, which he promised
to do. In about half an hour heard the
J dog whining ami making good deal OF
noise, and knowing that as long as he did
so there was NO chance of deer coming to
either of us, fastened down to where the
| dog was. just as reached HIM he turned
over on his back and had a severe spasm
which lasted a minute or two. instant
~ recognized the unmistakable signs OF
strychnine; then another and another
spasm followed, and in ten minutes he was
dead as door nail. He had hardly given
his last kick when his owner appeared
and told him whaG had happened and
| what I had seen old Davis DO.
never saw man so crazy with anger
in all my life; he vowed he would go to
Davis house and kill him, but after much
! persuasion he was induced to listen to
reason, and said he would do whatever /
advised. Whereupon advised him to go
! to his camp and get one of his lawyer
friends There being several of that pro-
fession in his party, Governor Letcher
among them) to bring suit against Davis
| for this wanton killing of his dog; and we
all promised him that, cost what it would,
we would attend the trial and give our
evidence against him. Davis was no.
toriously stingy, althougha man of good
property, and thought verdict, with q
large amount Of costs which the suit would
necessarily entail, would hurt him worse
than any corpOreal punishment that could
be inflicted. Mohler did not seem alto
gether satisfied with this, because, like a
great many others, he did not believe that
civil action would lie against party for
the wrong of killing dog. Upon reach
ing the camp, however, his lawyer friends
| told him that they could maintain such
action, and promised to bring the suit
| and prosecute, it vigorously without
charge.
AS soon as they returned to Lexington,
Governor Letcher took the matter in hand
and brought the suit, and a great many