The Colfax chronicle. [volume] (Colfax, Grant Parish, La.) 1877-1981, 1883-09-15


It Is now seven years since Lord
Shaftesbury with heart of compassion
for the humblest of Gods creatures,
took d leading part in the seemingly
almost hopeless task of making more
endurable the existence of that patient
little beast of burden, the ass. The diff
ficulties with which the good intent
were beset were formidable. In the
first place, the animals in question were
for the most part in the possession of a
class of persons on whom sentimental
appeal would certainly be wasted. The
London barrowman of the period w as,
it should be borne in mind, q very diff
ferent individual from the barrowman
of the present day. His bringing up
from earliest childhood was not of q
kind calculated to implsnt in his bosom
generous consideration for brute Gre
alton. A ''chip of the old block" he
had but little experience in the doctrine
that persuasion is better than force"
His father ruled his household by fist
law. When his children offended him
they were made to knuckle under liter
ally, and any disagreement between
himself and the partner of his joys and
sorrows was settled in the same sum-
mary manner. His treatment of the
animal on which he so largely depend
ed to assist him in his business was of
similar character, nor can it be said that
he was instigated by cruelty or malice.
1t was the fixed conviction OF the cos
termonger of twenty years ago that the
only way to secure domestic harmony
and keep his wife and children in re-
spective awe of him was to administer
to them an occasional licking and
his argument was that what was good
for woman could not be bad for q
donkey"
He was further of the opinion that
strong doses of his approved corrective
were better than to administer the
physic in a diluted form and at lengthy
intervals. Consequently, he never ac-
companied the poor beast tackled to
his barrow-shafts without carrying with
him weapon suitable for the purpose,
and which commonly took the shape of
stout ash sapling or the brass-bound
handle of an old carthorse whip, and
which, as occasion required, he applied
with an amount of muscular exertion
according to his belief in the toughness
of ass hide. The prevalent idea was
that such was the creatures insensibil-
ity to fogging that unless its ribs were
kept well developed it was mere
waste of stick to peg away at it; and
here came in the food question. The
natural result of too generous diet
would be to overlay the animals most
vulnerable parts with a shield of fat
that would make it more defiant than
ever of chastisement. To obviate such
an undesired consummation there was
but one course-to regulate its rations
and keep it high in bone, so that its
body, between the hips and shoulders,
resembled a hooped barrel. Vegetable
refuse, chopped straw, anything that
served to keep life in the poor beast,
was Thought food good enough for it.
Indeed, a familiar saying among the
costermonger fraternity in expressing q
strong opinion as to any act of needless
extravaganza was that it was ''like
giving donkey oats" Ill-treated,
miserably stabbed, half-starved, it was
not to be wondered at if the animals
better nature became deteriorated, and
If it at times, despairing of gaining its
masters goodwill and confidence by
exemplary behavior. it sought satisfac-
ton in being willfully wrong headed
and stubborn. London Telegraph.