News and citizen. [volume] (Morrisville, Vt. ;) 1881-current, 1886-09-02
WILD DOGS OF ATLANTA.
They Couldn't Stand the War Racket
Their Fatal determination.
TFrom the Atlanta Constitution.

[From the Atlanta Constitutional
Did you ever hear of the wild dogs OF
| Atlanta At one time the country
around here was almost at the mercy Of
these savage animals. ..t
Our dogs had hard time during the
siege There were thousands of them
in those days, and when the season of
short rations set in they were the first to
feel it. In many instances they were
abandoned by their refugeeing owners
and had to literally forage for living.
The thunder of the big guns, the un-
earthly shrieks of the shells, the noise
of the falling buildings, the rattle of
musketry, aEd the heavy tramp of
marching soldiers, all struck terror to
the canine contingent. Towards the
close of the siege nearly every dog in
! the city was half rabid or in the last
stage of nervous prOstration. The
wre ched brutes sought shelter under
houses and in bombproofs. Majestic
mastiffs and surly bulldogs curled their
TAI between their legs and yelped
mournfully at every unusual sound.
Hundreds of the bolder ones made
frantic break over the breastwork and
bitches, and made their way through
the lines of both armies, never stopping
until they reached the woods.
1t was even worse after Sherman's
army entered the place. The citizen,
were driven out in such a hurry that
they had no time to think of their pets,
and no means of transportat on for
them. Later, the destruction of the
city by fire, and the general pandemo-
mum that ensued, scattered the few re-
naming dogs.
These innocent victims of the ravages
of war had a terrible experience during
the rigorous winter of 1S64-5. Their
misery drove them to form strange pars-
nerships, and it was a common sight to
see them rowing in bands of dozen or
more. The old saying, "Banish the
dog from his kennel and you have a
wolf," was illustrated in this case. In
the course of five or six months the
country people for so miles around we e
spinning marvellous yarns about ''them
wild dogs from Atlanta"
The dog belongs to the genus which
produces the wolf, the jackal, and the
fox. Tame dogs, of course, lose many
OF the characteristics of these animals;
b when persecution and misery cause
them to relapse into wild state they
take the appearance, the habits, and the
tastes of wolves and jackals. Such was
VIGOROUSLY the fact with the Atlanta
dogs. They lost every trace of domes.
ITCHY. They grew to ormous size,
with savage eyes and cruel-looking
fangs.
| Occasionally gang of these ferocious
beasts would swoop down on a farm
| yard, devouring chickens and pigs, and
attacking men when they stood in their
| way. 1t took the livellest kind Of shoot
ing to drive them off. Sometimes they
would surround a lonely cabin and wait
for the inmates to come out. They
even made raids into little villages,
| forcing the inhabitants to shut them
selves up in their houses. The disap-
pearance of many negro in these peril
bis seiefe nS VAS rs'y ,a d9r hGn
Gle of flesh gnawed off, and WITH the
ground around showing evidence of a
desperate struggle.
Early in 1865, when few refugees
began returning to Atlanta, they had to
struggle with these wild dogs for the
possession of the ruins. Bloody en-
counters occurred among the ash heaps
and piles of debris. Every cellar and
hole in the ground held these ravenous
brutes, and they leaped upon men,
women and children without the slight
est provocation. At thai time it was
dangerous to ide or drive out in the
country On the main road between
here and Decatur, in broad daylight,
dogs were known to attack horses at
tached 10 buggies, forcing their drivers
to open hot fusillade with their re-
vo vers.
After getting this taste of a wild life
the Atlanta dogs went to the bad alto
gethcr. They never reformed. A re-
lentless warfare was waged upon them
from Stone Mountain to Kenesaw, and
one by one they bit the dust until they
we're all wiped out.