, 1880-07-19
THE n0A.nAY6.

The H0E.tlnyS hfG now upon tSt oTt INlucFt
they arc upon the inhabitants Of placcs less
fortunate thnn is Chicago 1T regard to s.l''-
nler l,eats. Where We tave had few wnrtll
t,ays, the folks elsewhere hive bcen literally
broiltng. st. l.nuis, New: Yurlt, aitl other
intermediate, as well rs cxtra,ncafntc, places
l,nvo sweiteretl, nlltl stewetl, md steamed
un,lur tho ragl,,g heat Of the scason, Which,
utmost fronl time inlnel,lorlat. llns bcen
known rs tho ttog-ttays; or wlfel. It Is prc-
sl1nted every dog l,as Ole.
1t Is n tnir question, why the most opnrcs-
siye part Of tho year should hNvu been nntlcd
after 4 domestic animal Instead Of s0lllo
nunlrr of tho fnmtly of wild bcasts 1t
woultl hnve been natural enough to connect
It with "tfle lion rigging to tley0itr," Which
long since found lis why Into the iodine.
but why the dog? Suine Ut nlir rcntlers
| ,tny be interested III following out tic tltrcal
| uf, thought whicl, connects the two and ex-
plains one Of tho most widely-sprcatl super
st}tions of tlie civilized w0rld, ,tl,e ilea that
dogs nrs peculiarly Liable TO ~ mud In tho
hut weather.
The iIxe,t star Sirius, tho brightest in the
heavens, popularity kruw,, rs the Dog-Star,
now rises Mt tho snno lime rs the sll1,, III this
! jutllUuEf Ill tllt HltlEi ptak VI AtNAt7hs
Astronomers toll liz TINT owing to the pre-
ccssion of thu cqu[noXes this rising occurs
each year Ittl|o Inter than the ycar pre-
y1o,ss. Hence II formerly rose with the sun
earlier tllan now. a few thousand years ago
It peeped out In the eastern twilight, Just
before sunrise, tn tho inhabitants OF the lnnl
Of Egypt, shortly before the annual overflow
Of TINT country by the River Nile. lIGnce
tho first sight Of this star before sunrise was
nnxlously looked for rs 4 precursor OF
most Important event, attl tho star
came to be regarded as monitor
OF the approaching overflow. From tile illca
of MI inai,lnlato monitor or sontfncl 10 thai
Of nn animated watch dog. was not n very
long stop, In All ngu when action Of any kind
WIS necessarily represented by some animate
object, ~ pictorial representation wns tht
only known mode Of recording notion Of
thought. In later years tic stars near Siriu!
were classc,l, witt. HIN, into group, ant
callct ".rlle Dog." Then followed thu idel
TINT tic tl,no during which the sun wa!
J slowly passing those stars, at tho rate o.
! about oNodegree per tlay, belonged to, or wa
presided over BY. thu tloK. The days coin
prlscl within this period are ever sillc
called "the dog-tlays.'
I Tho IDEA spread. with the march Of man
kind westward, and was cn,bamcd IN tn
. lnngtlngcs Of tile farther West. But tte rca
!, sol, was not present to those who did no
: live in Egypt. and It gradually died ont erel
$ to The Egyptians, Ms the procession of tn
: equinoxes carried the star past, md has sine
$ then continuously wilet,cd tho tln,o tina
Il clapscs between tho rising Of tho Nile an
+ tie morning appearance OF Sirius. Notl,in
I WIS ,,lnrc natural tllnn TINT tic popular min
J. should Invent Il reason which It could untle
Q statld and apply. II there were any conlle'
\ t!on between tho tlog-days and the dog rac'
y It must be tint dogs were ppcnlla
y ly Affected during those daya, aud G.
Il pecinlly moro liabto to TINT llreadf.
. disease for which there was but ono know
IL rcmctly-tleatl. And 80 It became settle
9 TINT dogs go mad during tho dog-lays, It
J. NIL, mid It became recognized rs tho ChrIsslu
duty Ut persons III authority to issue q
u annual proclamation against anil about dog
Is Just rs n certain high authority once fulnl
II 1lntctl his bull ngainst n comet. Ileresy 1t
10 in l1sa,iy parts Of tho world to-day to doul
II it, mil gross neglect Of duty to omit tho a
Il cnstomcd warning to Aog-0wMers atMl col
v ,nn,,l to POLICEMEN In regnrd 10 tl1gs w1tllo
u 0wners. Aud so tho tlugs still die that
IT superstition llIay 1.-Two, though there IL fnr le
10 rcasoM fur tho existence OF tic suporstitlt
J. thau fnr tint Ut tho nuimai--whfch is lit
H. enough III civilized community.