The National tribune., 1883-03-01
THAT DOG R0USER,
And How He Came to be the Pei
of the Camp.
by Il 4. b. Curtis.1


no one had ever seen an uglier dog. Snub
| nozed. crop-eared, one eye white and the othe
! yellow, his tieshleSs skeleton covered with
! coarse yellow coat-there he sat, statuc-likc
! without taking the least notice OF us, neithe
! raising his eyes nor wagging his tail. Indeed
| the poor brute had no tail to wag. And in ad
! dition TO his long list of msfortunes h,
! seemed to have been badly wounded in som,
recent conflict, for his wounds were still bleed
/ ing.
Lend me your revolver" said Charley
Hines to Fritz Muller.
No said Dutch Fritz, don't waste pow
der. / lays him out nit dis rock"
Davy Blake caught up shovel, and would
soon have ended the dog's career, if Hank
HowIey had not interfered to the surprise OF
all.
In all the three months we had picked and
shovclled and rocked and panned together i'll
the Sky High clam, no one had ever discovered
any softncss in Hank Howloy.
We had come together, a party of five, from
different parts of the world, and formed a
partnership to work out a rich mountain claim
in the SierraS.
We had been strangers to each other when
we consolidated our claims into a partnership,
f@r purposes OF economy in labor and living.
But We soon became acquainted, and we were
speedily III possession of all the early Z" his
tory desirable with regard to each other, cX-
cept that OF Hank Hawlcy; he never talked
about himself, and seemed to resent any curl
osty concerning his personal affairs lie was
rough, reserved and somewhat surly; but he
was alWays ready 20 take upon himself the
hardest and most unpleasant tasks. His giant
frame and iron mu,ccs seemed made for hard
work and endurance.
The laugh went round as Hank went up
to the ugly brute, Talted his head, and exam
ined his wounds in what seemed to be profrs-
sunal manner.
The dog preserved the utmost Indifference
while his case was discussed, never appearing
conscious of a human presence. Blu when
Hank ; examination was ended he licked his
hand in "A gentle. melancholy way, and then
followed him to the cabin. The cruel wounds
w>rr dressed and the poor waif was sumptu-
ou-iy roga!cd wiki some bacon r.nd and hrec
g2n"Tcu, l'aPiAcks lift from The morning meal.
Old Eu5t', the camp dor. greeted the new
coaler with Il v!ndic;iyr croyi but Hank lde
him get oUti' SO trrcc!y that Butte r. treat d
from the cabin, and the stranger took his place
by the campfire.
The more the minors and Butte abused the
ncw dog, tha NOR Hank pctt,d him. He let
him sleep nj his in.t IN his bunk, and fed him
fron his 0wl tin p! ltc
One Saturday night tie air was more pier
cling than usual, &Iil Hank Howlcy INDUCED
in considerable grualh.i ~ INNS =, for leaving
his coat at the had Dam. n mile distant. where
we all had been wuTii iH:s. He wa, sitting on q
bench wrapped in his b!aak t, and smoking Il
homemade manzaaiia PIP, when Fritz ez-
claimed:
Hank, vcre's de dog?"
" He hasn't been in for SUPPER suggested
Doe
Base, ungratefnl pup said Charley.
You We seen ;ha last Of your coyote, Hank
! told you So" added Davy
he was cur Of i"Y dc-rcc," resumed
Charley. a high-toncddo- lil, Butte would
never so back on Iii, friends in that manner.
Eli. Burtc?"
Don't YOU worry Yourself about that dog"
growied Hank. " lie ain't your dog. III bet
four bits he's all right"
No enc took til bet
Presently Andy .inec offered to sell Hank
fine fox hound.
I've no Us, cor him" Hank replied. "I'vc
got the be5; dog IN the Siorras, and maybe you'll
find it out II YOU live long enough.
We did
All day Sunday no pug-nofcd dog appeared
and ali day running fire Of jest aud comment
was ke,'t ur ab 'ut the yagrant. The ncighbor-
ing miners, as they dropprd in 20 smoke aud
chat by our fire, never failed TO say, Why,
Hank, where's your dog" until ut last Hanks
temper, never oil the best. fairly gave out
On Monday morning, when we went back to
work al tn" dam. there was the dog faithfully
watciin Hanks coat.
Al through those bitter nights he had
watched by il, without food or shelter nos even
lying down upon it for warmth. lie was shak-
ing rs with an ague fit but the look he gave
Hack seemed to say, " / cannot DO much for
you, but h ~, kept yolr coat slfc NV friend"
Didn't TIL you So" sad Hank. proudly
Public sentiment instantly turned in the
dogs favor. as we gathered around him. and
shOwercd upon him such terms as Good dog"
. Nice pupw Poor fellow"
"Why he's roIscr OF dog, after all =" said
Doc swing him the bisciGt he had brought for
his own iuachc0n.
He was chrstened Rouscr" on the SPOT.
and from that time he was the prime fayorite
OF the camp. Even Butte's selfish heart warmed
toward him, and many a merry tussle they had
together.
That same day it began to snow 1t showed
and it showed. We gathered up rockers shOvcls.
and pans. The snow covered the powders; then
il buried the chaparrll and manzanita bushes;
then all the miners cabins; and still it came
down. it nearly filed the valley full.
There were eight or ten miners cabins in the
vicinity, their locality being indicated by one
or two holes in the snow, and marked by stakes
bearing inscriptions like these:
Twenty feet to Billy Brooke's Cabin"
" Cabin Of the Merry Miners, three yards be-
low" Doc Furber, Hank HOwley Il Co.,
twenty-five feet" 'Grand Hotel: Beans and
We kept the fire roaring, read the old papers
over and over went out and shot game now and
then had games of rough-and tumble and snow
balling told stories and smoked our pipes un-
der the snow as cheeriully as the greasy EsGui-
mauX.
A hole in the snow let in the light to a hole
in cabin, and at this window Butte or
RonSer invariably took lis station at meal
time; it was not large enough for both at once
Our table was under this window, and refuse
bits OF bread and bacon were tossed to the lucky
dog in the window. Butte being of a lazy
turn, could wait more patiently, so he usually
took his station at the window as soon as the
SayOry fumes OF frying bacon assembled To the
upper air. ROuser would come to the hole and
bark savagely, but could not frighten Butte
away. AT last louser resOrted to artilice One
dinner time he rushed into a little cump of
pines barking furiously, as if he had found some
choice game. Butte could not Withstand this.
SO he came out of the window to join in the fun,
and artful Rouser quietly slipped into his
place. Day after day Rouser continued to plav
this trick on poor Butte, and always with the
same success.
But this same little window was source of
sorrow to Camp Square Comfort, as we called
our quarters. One day we all went out hunt
ing, and forgot to shut the window. When we
we found that the coyotes had carried
of all our bacon. This was a serious loss We
could borrow IA little, of course but il was
for some one to go to the nearest
trading post for a fresh supply. Hank Howloy
volunteered to perform the mission, and as he
was the strongest of the party, and more used
to travelling ON snoW-shoes, he seemed best