The Indianapolis sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis, Ind.) 1880-1904, 1885-03-15
changer
lYouth's Companion /

Changer"
youths Companion
Ranger. or Range. az he was oitenesl called,
was lsTge dog Of Newfoundland and Scotch
collie b God, owned--if creature ofauch no.
BILE md well.nigh human intelligence can
properly be said 20 be- owned-by two boye,
neighbois and tchoolmaies Of the writer, in
n In 10 frontier town OF Western.I1ga. Tao
same boys had anolher dog that was almost
as No facioue.
What cold comfort We boys had with
them Tho new northwestern region in
which We lived afforded ~ abundant oppor-
tunity 90 indulge 90 the utmost our passion
for hunting, and 90 bring out all the hunt
Ing Qualities OF our dogs. Neither of the
doge belonged to the varieties OF natural
hunlera but Range, nj least, combined IN
himself all the exoelenoies and none OF the
faults Of nearly every known species of
dogs.
There was nothing which his strength aud
ability could enable him 60 perform that he
would not readily do for his young matters,
and on the other hand they would land on
one occasion one OF them did peril life and
limb for Range.
TO persons outside OF the family whom he
liked, Range was tedately amioable, bat was
never very warm ia his expIeiioaso Of ifltnd'
snip 20 any one but his owners. When ne
had formed an al opinion OF man, no
wheedling could induce him 10 change it.
lilo was he terror OF trampo, ladlans and
setdy looking individuals OF every deacrip
ton never allowing them 10 come near the
hou1e except under leave Of some member OF
the family.
His IDEAS OF iespectability were much nicer
than many which prevail among certain
ciassss OF the higher order OF beings" The
smell Of tobacco or rnm dlsgusted him ut.
terly. He growled and shrank away dlsap.
pfovingly whenever neghbor tane u the
houte with pipe In his mouth or IL minus
tta a. ova sal tad Ul IA
| odor OF the weed.
He would carry an egg from the barn %
| the house scratch at the doOr.latch aud de-
| liver IL without breaking or fetch two.
| quart pail half felled with drinking water
| from the house 20 the field without spilling
| Indeed, he could be sent 10 the field mile
away, with perfect security, 10 carry lunch
| or any thing not too heavy which the msn
had forgotten or needed.
| Either OF the boys when out hunting and
tired OF carrying game could send Range
| home with several ducks and prairie chlck.
| always inside the door. he invariably calne
| back 10 finish the hunt In this instance no
would disobey all orders from any member
! OF the family but the one who sent him.
When one OF them told him TO 90 and come
! back, be would make the trip at all hazards.
Mr.. VS. family, OF which our canine
| hero wac % member, was large one, yet
| Range always showed decided preference
for the society OF the two younger boys, who
claimed him as their peculiar property, and
was Il constant companion 10 one or both at
| their work or play
one day, the brothers were planting corn
In the field. using hand planters, when, with
out knowing ~, one OF them lost "A smali
| bolt which At length seriously interfered
| with the working OF the machine. He
| scratched for some time in vain FOR the bolt,
| when Charlie, the other brother, took from
1 .ta al ka half ~. 10 tha
| lost, and showing IL to the dog, bsde him
go hunt" for the missing one. Tne Ia tslli-
gent animal snuiied the piece OF iron,
whined and set oil over the field In search OF
the missing article.
For bali hour he ran about with his nose
close TO the earth, but at length came run
ming 10 the boys, wagging his tail, with the
lost bolt In his mouth.
One or two more anecdotes and / must
close this biography Of dog. Ii has already
been stated that one OF Ranges boyish mas
tiers risked his life in going to his rescue.
| Charley -'of II was he--was hunting ducks
with one OF the neighboring boys, during a
spring fIeshet. After killing several birds
they thot one which fell into the water In
the midst OF an ice.h %, and without thtak
Ing OF the danger to him, sent Range In nf.
ter IL.
He swan out to the lice Jam" and cross
ing the intervening cases, Jumped into a
deep crevice after the duck
| IL was easy enough To get into the hole,
bet to climb up the slippery sides OF the ice
cakes and carry the game proved task be
| yond the dogs power He
tried again aud again. bul
without avail. At last, with few barxs
OF disc ppointment, he dropped the duck ano
made the attempt unencumbered, bat only
TO find himself so exhausted aud chilled as
to be totally unable TO climb up the steep
slippery surfaces.
II h. bnv ~ lar a ~ ~. a.
loudly to the struggling dog. 1t was in vain
trying, and poor Range whinei once OF
twice des pairingly.
L can't stand here and see Range DROWN
Charley at last cried out; and throwing o.
his coat, in spite OF the protests OF his com
panion, the brave lad plunged into the icy
water and swan out To the foe. Then crawl
| ing over the slippery cakes and across tn,
| crevices. he reached down his suspender
and drew out the faithfnl dog. who was by
| this time too much benumbed TO stand or
his feet. Dragging him to the outer edge
Charley again spraug into the icy curren
and the two had barely strength aud life
| enough left to reach the shore.
| Still another incident which myself wit
messed attests to Ranges remarkable reason
ing movers Charley and myself were search
ing for the cows one evening, with Range a
q companion. but tor a wonder without car
| TyiDg our guns or q stick.
Suddenly the dog bounced on some objec
in the grass ahead OF Us, and Immediately
fierce struggle began. We ran forward an,
found Range engaged in fierce fight with
| badger.
These animals were quite numerous il
our section OF the country at that time, ant
the fierce. tough-hided hrutes, when brougn
to bay, will fight with the ferocity of q griz
zley bear. On account of the exceeding thick
ness and the loosness OF their skins. il is al
most impossible for dog to injure ole o
| them.
We made hurried search at once tor club
with which to come TO the dogs help; bu
Range meanwhile had developed a plan o
his own by which to dispose OF this badger
and Immediately proceeded to put 1t in exc
cution. Selling the animal, which wa
nearly as heavy as himself. by its loose hide
! he dragged it. struggling a1d fighting, TO-