The Palatka daily news. (Palatka, Fla.) 1884-1888, 1885-08-08
THEY STRUCK PAY DIRT.
a Dog Fight That Ended in a Precious
Hole In the Ground.
vor C1,uI

u Dog Fight That Ended in q Precious
Hole In the Ground.
New York SUM-
In the bar-room of the Miners Arms. the
Front street hotel patroniZed chiefly by
miners bound to and from the mining re-
giona = west, were two or three groups
of mel :, king and talking over old times
ar the parson and his boyg'
asked !, wcomer.
"Dol'5 e." said three or four
otis nigh on to six months since the par
son moved into a shanty just a mile out Of
Elko. 1t was the dead of winter, but he was
cheerful. and lowed he shouldn't suffer
lonesome for the boy, though to hear
him tell it, until the break up,
when Deacon Holbrook, from Con-
necticut. drove stake joining the
parsons The deacon had boy
called Dick, and he and Bob, the par
sons boy, were a whole team. Both of them
had dogs, and each thought his dog could
lick the other one; but, I'm giving it to you
straight, the parson and the deacon watched
them that close that they couldn't get up
fight to save them. Ono day Bob he came
to me and told me all about it, and l told
him we'd put up job on the pety business.
Accordingly the Saturday paper announced
a special service for Sunday morning in Bill
Stevens dance hall.
When the hour came and the parson AMI
the deacon were turning over their by nm
books, Bill nd me and two others that I'd
let into the secret was up to the
parsons ranch arranging the pre-
liminaries. We made a beautiful in
closure with two boards and a wagon
box against one side of the shanty, and then
wa washed the dogs. BlI he coached the
deacon's dog and looked after the parsons.
They were both in prime condition, and
when we'd turned them loose it was a glori-
GUS spectacle to see them claw across the
gravel for the center of the pit The
deacon'S pup got the first hold and gave the
other a good shake, but he lost it again, and
then the two of them rolled over and over
and riZ up on their hind legs and clawed,
and got down on their knees and dug their
paws into the ground. There was dust afiy
ing Immediately, and it was oil we could do
to see which was on top In fact, it was
such mighty interesting fight that we
never noticed how time was passing, and be-
fore we knew it the parson and the deacon
rode up heir bronchOs.
Brethren, brethren says the parson,
what does this meana Dick, take your dog
home. SIR
Maybe you'd better take your dog off
from him so he can go kome himself said
the deacon, sarcastic like, and he just
about right, too. for the parsons dog was
top a-chawing the others neck scandal
louS. That made the parson mad, and he
lowed tue deacon had an honery pup, any
how. That was enough for the deacon. He
was beginning to reach for the parson when
Bill Stevens began to yell like
an Apache. The dogs had wal
lowed their way right down into the
ground. ami Bill had in a mechanical way
picked up handful of dirt and rubbed it
between his fingers. and he'd hefted q mug
get There was rustling Whereabouts stalk
ing of claims over the parsons ranch for a
few minutes, and when we'd got it all dons
regular we all had enough to take us back
to the states"
(Which licked?' said the bartender, wiping
his hands Oh his partially white apron.
The newcomer looked at him reproach-
fully for moment and then said:
"If you'd been there you'd have known
we didn't waste no time watching dogs fight
after they'd struck pay dirt.