Mohave County miner., 1886-12-26
THE WILD DAYS o. ATLANTA.


4 Carss.s Resale Of the Late Civil wss
--Ysree,ous Brutss ~ Large
Did you ever hear os the wild dogs Of
Atiantai At one time the country around
here was almost d, tho mercy OF these
savage animals Hors,.-. elephants, and
camels can be made TO take an almost
human interest in war. but dogs can not
stand tne racket. The din Of battle and
the smell Of vilIainow ssltpetrs breaks
them up entirely.
Our dogs had hard time during the
siege. There were thousands Of them in
thoss days. aud when the season Of short
rations set In they were the first 70 feel
IT, In many instances they were aban.
ioned BY their refugeeing owners and
had to literally forage for . living,
The thunder OF ths big gulls. the un-
earthly shrieks Of the shells the noise Of
falling buildings, the rattle Of musketry.
'and the heavy tramp Of marching sob
.!.ogs. all struck terror to the canine con-
sinSent. Toward the closs Of tile siege
neariy every dog In the city was half
eibid or in the last stage OF nervous
a,stration. The wretched brutes sought
i.elter under houses and In bomb-proofs.
ia jestic fnastiffs and surly bull dogs
i'ried their tails between their legs and
lped mournfully at every unusual
and. Hundreds OF the bolder onef
.4s.de frantic break over the breast
arks and bitches. and niadc their way
trough the lines f both armies. never
iapping until they reached the woods
II was even worse after Shernan's
s.lny entered the place. The citizens
sere driven out In such . hurry that
y had no time TO think OF their pets,
ld no means of transportation for
she'n. Later, the destruction Of the city
~ fire. AMI the general pandemonium
ti,aS ensued, scattered the few remain
iax dogs.
Tnesc innocent victims Of the ravages
Of war had a terrible experience during
the rigorous winter OF 13jiJ. Their
misery drove them TO form strange part
nsrships, and it was common sight to
zee them rowing In bands OF dozen or
more. The old saying: "Banish the
dog FROM his kennel and you have .
wolf" was illustrated In this case. In
the course OF five or six months tho
country people for fifty miles around
were spinning marvellous yarns about
them wild dogs from Atlanta"
The dog belongs TO the genus which
produces the wolf, the jackal, AMI the
fox. Tame dogs. Of course, lose many
OF the characteristics OF these ami.
mails. but when persecution and misery
cause them TO RELAPSE into . wild state
they take the appearance. the habits and
tastes OF wolves and jacksls. Slch was
VIGOROUSLY the fact with the Atlanta
dogs. They lost every trace OF domestic
ity. They grew To enormoas size, with
savage eyes and cruel looking fangs.
Occasionally gang Of these ferocious
beasts would swoop down on . farm
yard, devouring chickens and pigs. and
attacking men when they stood in their
way. 1t took the iivie~t kind OF hooting to
drive them of. Sometimes they would
surround a lonely cabin and wait for the
inmates to come out. They even made
raids into little villages, forcing the in.
habitants to shut themselves up in their
houses. TIE disappearance OF many .
negro in those perilous times was fully
accounted for when his skeleton was
found with every particle OF Hesh
ynawed of and with the ground around
showing evidences Of desperate struS-
gle.
Early in 1865, when a few refugees
began returning to Atlanta, they had TO
struggle with these wild dogs for tbs
ruins. Bloody encounters 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 slightest provocation. At that time
IL was dangerous to ride or drive out in
the country. On the main road betweea
here and decatur, in broad daylight,
dogs were known b, attack horses a.
Esclned to buggiss. forcing thsi~ drivers
10 open hot fusillsds with their ~
volvers.
After getting this taste H Wild life
he Atlanta dogs went 10 the bad a.
.ogeti.r.( They never reformed. A 70
entless warfa8 was waged upon them
rom Stone mountain TO Kennesaw, and
,ns by one they BIT the dust until they
we're all wiped out. the reader st q dis
ance mlss not jump to the conclusion
hat Il Is indiscriminate slaughter has
;aused any unusual scarcity Of dogs in
his region. Thanks 10 tine universal
,nInan weakness for pets. we are abund.
'ntly supplied With bencb.legged fices.
err,ets. pups. NswfOanilanders. mas.
ifs and bulls. H. some unexpected
should cause them all to go
yild. after tts fashion Of their prede-
,essors. they woulj he an uncommonly
.ough crowd to deal with. Atlanta
rl,.-
So.