Custer chronicle. [volume] (Custer City, Black Hills, D.T. [S.D.]) 1880-1890, 1886-05-01
p

Bill Nye, in commenting on the recent
ravages of this terrible malady, which
is SO rapidly on the increase in this
country, suggests the hopeless plan OF
gradual determination as the only effec.
tive method by which this horrible
affection may be averted. He says:
Did it ever occur to the average think
ing mind that we might squeeze along
for weeks without a dog? Whole
families have existed for years after be-
Ing deprived of dogs. Look at the
wealthy OF our land. They go on COM
fortably through life and die at last with
unanimous consent Of their heirs dog
less.
Then why can not the poor gradually
taper off on dog? They ought not to
stop all of a sudden; but they could
leave of a dog at a time untH at lastthey
overcame the pernicious habit. | saw
a man in st. Paul last week who was
once poor, and 50 owned seven variegat-
ed dogs. He wa confirmed in the IA.
bit. But he summoned all his will
power at last and said he would shake
oil those dogs and become a man. He
did so. and to-day he owns a city lot in
II. Paul, and seems TO be the picture of
health.
The trouble about maintaining a dog
is that he may 90 on for years in "a quiet,
gentlemanly way, winning the regard Of
all who know him, and then all of a
sudden lie may hydrophobc in the most
violent manner. Not only that, but he
,,,, l., ., nI;ln nnn bn,n
He may also bite our twins or the twins
of our warmest friends. He may bite
rs now and we may laugh at it, but in
five years from now, while we may be
delivering a humorous lecture, we may
burst forth into the audience and bite a
beautiful young lady in the parquet on
the ear.
1t is a solemn thing to think of, follow
citizens, and | appeal to those who may
read this, as a MAJ who may not live to
see a satisfactory political reform-l APP
peal to you TO refrain from the dog. He
is purely ornamental. We may love a
good dog, but We ought To love our chill
dren none. 1t would be a very, very
noble and expensive dog that | Wo u
agree 10 feed with my only son.
| know that we gradually become at
tached to a good dog, but some day he
may become attached to Us, and what
can be saddcr than the sight OF II leading
citizen drawing Il reluctant mad-dog
down the street by main strength and
the seat of his pautaloons? Il mean
his own, not the dogs pants. This joke
will appear in book form in April. The
book will be very reasonable, and there
will be another Joke in it also.) have
said a good deal about the dog, pro and
con, and | am not Il rabid dog abolition
list, for no one loves to have his clear
cut features licked by the warm, wet
tongue Of a noble dog any more than |
do; but rather than see ~hydrophobia
become a national characteristic or a
leading industry here, | would forego
the dog.
Perhaps all men are that way, how
ever. When they get a little forehand-
ed they forget that they were once poor,
and owned dogs. If so, | do not wish
to be unfair. Let us yield up u dogs
and take the affection that we would
otherwise bestow on them and lavish it
upon some human being. | have tried
it and it words well. There are thou
sands of people in the world, of both
sexes, who are pining and starving for
the love of money that we daily shower
on the dog.
If the dog would be kind enough to
refrain from introducing his Justly cele-
brated virus into the persons of those
only who refuse to kiss him on the
moist, cold nose, it would be all right
but when Il dog goes mad he is very i'm
p~ulsive, and he may bestow himself on
an obscure man. So feel a little nerv.
Gus myself.