Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1885-09-10
SPOTS SAVINGS BANK.
A Dog Who, Like His Master, Lost His
Faith in Banks of Deposit.

Faith in Banks of Deposit.
We are all familiar with the habit
peculiar to dogs of burying and hiding
bones for future dinners and lunches,
making. as it were. savings-banks OF
our flower beds and strawberry patches.
l once lived in farmhouse where
there also resided a dog which was par
ticularly given to this thrifty practice.
and the boys used to play practi cal
Jokes on him on account of his misery
habit.
One day, having watched him hide a
sleeps humerus Cor shoulder of-mut.
ton bone) in this manner. they dug it up,
and buried in its place one of those toy
Observation-Disclosures with big furry whis-
kers and large starring eyes, which fly
up with spring as soon as you un-
fasten the lid. This they SO arranged
that the moment Spot touched it with
his paw it should 60 off. so to speak.
For several days Spot was as closely
watched as a suspected Nihilist would
be by the police of Russia, but he showed
no sign of drawing on his bank &C.
count At last it was suggested
by a shrewd little fellow that
they cut off his rations, and so
starve him into dong what they
wanted. This soon had the desired eff :
feet, and Spot was seen slyly creepin
along under the shadow of the fence
toward his safe deposit vault. where.
after casting a cautious glance around
to see that he was not watch ed, he be.
gan lazy and deliberate scratching.
All of sudden the grim and grizzly
Jack flew out of the earth. 10 o king
none the less awful from having his
hair and whiskers filled with particles
of earth and gravel
Spot glared with dumb terror at the
apparition for the sixtieth part OF a
second. and then gave one great bound
backward. and, uttering howl OF
agony, wheeled off. with his tail between
his legs till he was brought up stand
ing in one of those vegetable porcu-
pines known as a gooseberry bush.
Then he pricked up his ears. frightened
his tail more firmly between his legs,
stared wildly to the right. left, behind,
and all round, and then raised up bis
voice and walled. "W-o 100000! co.
ow-wow-ow-wow!" After this he took
two bars rest, looked all round again,
and once more gave vent to ''WoW-
wow-wow!'' but this time rather more
defiantlY Receiving no response to
| this challenge, he ventured to take q
| few steps cautiously toward Jack in
box, paused awhile. and gave an
other bark; and so, with barks and
pauses, he at last reached the fearful
object
1t would take too long to describe
all his man9uvres and his many snaps
before he ventured to seize the thief
who had stolen his bone. but when he
did so it was very amusing to watch
| the manner in which he worried that
| unlocky toy.
The spiral spring. which we all know
is the backbone of jack-in-the-box.
was the only thing which batfied him.
| the end of it getting into his eyes, Up
| his nose, in his ears and everywhere.
| For weeks after, when that spiral wire
| had become covered with rust, Spot
used always to give it a timid nibble,
| followed by a contemptuous sniff, as he
| passed it by.
| For long time after this Spot was
| very cautious about digging up his
buried treasures. and when at last the
| bows tried another trick upon him Gin
| which gunpowder played an important
part), and his savings bank ''burst
| up," as other banks sometimes do, he
| lost his faith in banks OF deposit, and
never buried any bones thereafter
HarDer's Yau1ad People.