Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1886-11-02
A Dog that Knows His Business
He Has BEEx on THE POLICE Force FOR
YEARS AND HAS CAUGHT MANY BUR
GLAE.


CLAIR.
The clerks at Police Headquarters finished
their work on the pay-rolls of the department
TO-DAY, and the members of "the finest" with
one exception, will receive their salaries for
October on Monday next This exception is
Policeman Jack, of the Seventeenth precinct,
who has served the force for FIVE years and
has never drawn penny of salary. Police
man Jack is a big black mastifi and Is regard
ed as one of the most remarkable dogs OF the
age. 1t s rare thing that Jack is found
! outside the limits of his own precinct de
never asks for day of and has never been
on bat one spree since he Joined the force.
| His is the only case in which the Commis-
/ sioners have permitted policeman to go on
patrol without first providing himself with the
regulation blue Of the department. No
charges have ever been made against Jack.
| He has never dubbed an inoffensive citizen.
Nor has he ever demanded hush-money from
any one who has violated the law. Altogether
Jack is a model officer. One dark, blustery
night about five years ago Jack, who was
then a yagrant made I'D to Patrolman Trass
in Avenue and managed TO ingratlate him
self into that officers good graces. Poor
Jack was shivering, wet and hungry, and the
kind-hearted Trass took him 10 restaurant
near By and got him good meal Of scraps
from the carver's block of the establishment
For elk months after this Jack and Trass
pstrolled the same post. The changes made
in the officers tour of duty did not dsconcert
Jack. He soon learned to calculate the time
when Trass should appear on post and was
always there when that officer showed up
Though his home is now at me Fifth street
station he is only there during the day. At
night he accompanies the officers of that squad
around their beats. Officer Trass had much
difficulty in getting Jack to go to the station
house in the beginning, but finally succeeded,
and in a short time all the men from Capt
McCullagh down became Jacks special
friends.
Like other good policemen, Jack has a
clean record. He 10 credited with many
arrests, and since his connection with the
force has lent valuable aid to the officers Of
his precinct in similar undertakings. He has
killed his dog and carries scar in cUnse
Quence Ga his left forepaw, where he was
shot by the friends of the dog that he had
killed. Jack was forced into this fight. His
opponent was big bulldog, but he wiped
him out in short order Two years ago Jack
and Policeman Max Fisher were going down
Thirteenth street. when the cry of Murder )"
was heard. 1t came from Third avenue.
Two men were seen running down the street,
and Fisher and Jack started after them.
Fisher captured one and Jack fastened his
teeth in the other ones coat collar and laid
him on his back. 1t turned out these two
men had tried to rob man. A few days
later Jack stopped fight on Third avenue
and arres ed the man that began it, while
Roundsman O'Rourke attended to the man
who had got the worst of it. At boxing
t,I, kafxy in Var
little while before this, Capt. McCullagh
found it necessary to interfere and stop the
fight Jack, however, did the hard work.
lie cleared the hall in less time than it takes
to tell it.
The arrest of Johnny Smith, alias Kelly,
on the morning of April 5, 1884, while he
was burglsrizing the house No. 299 East
Eleventh street, is Jacks most famous piece
of work. 1t was about | o'clock, two burg
lars were ransacking room on the second
occupied by Frederick Bockel, who was
asleep at the time and undisturbed by the
burglars presence. To save carrying their
plumber down stairs the burglars threw it out
of the window. Jack was passing at the
tiae. He shifted the clothes and concluding
something was wrong he bounded up the
stairs and aroused the house. Mr.. Bockel
awoke and was act upon by the burglars, who
were be ing nun when JACK rusheu INTO the
room The dog seized Smith and held him
until policeman arrived and took him to
the station house. The other burglar man
aged to get away. Smith is now serving ten
years for this burglary. Jack once went on
a spree with a number of brewers up in 10th
street and got full on beer. He was the first
dog that crossed the Brooklyn bridge and is
never moested by the dog -catchers. The
only wrong done this noble animal is that he
is not included among the members of the
force mentioned in the book known as Our
Police Protectors-N Y Mail and Express