Alma record. (Alma, Mich.) 1878-1928, 1888-01-27

OF railroad men switched """' oJ
the subject of pools. rat8. cns.'ns' I'D
the operation of trains ! ,o,.
some time TO the cOnsiderat Ia.
Igence of the an mai king v q
stances Of remarkable inst nc
actual reasoning power were .,ure,s
after which one OF the party mentioned.
a character" quite generally known
in Minneapolis q few Years ago, and
still affect onately remembered by
scores of citzens. The story y told ~
nearly MS poss bic II the speaker's own
language. and ran something after this
fashion:
Well. bows, YOU can all talk. but the
most knowing animal | ever ran across
was Jack. the tramp dog You all
remember him, don't you? His head
quarters was at the Nj lwaukee d 81.
Paul ticket Office, when George Scott
dealt n the pasteboards. He was a
rather squatty white animal, W tn black
patches on h face and pair Of eyes
which reflected joy, dspleasure or graf
itude as plainly rs any human eye could
DO. You would notice those eyes tho
first thing f you meet them on tho
street Bat, | am sorry to say, there
was good deal Of the old Adam or or
ignal sin in Jack. probably owing 10
his early education. No one ever knew
positively where he came from. but
other dogs fooling around SCOTS office
soon discovered that he was there.
No military hero OF ancient or modern
times ever passed through as many
battles. and Jack d Il not seem TO care
a continental whether they were victor
him. Another Of his pecularities was
his penchant for riding on railway
trains and express wagons. Nearly
every day, when n town, he could be
seen ding up or down Washington
avenue on some wheeled veh Gle and
gazing complacently ut people on the
sidewalk, but never saving word.
The Milwaukee & 81. Paul was his fav-
orite rail route, and he would 90 of
quite regularly on excursions TO 1t.
Paul, and in some instances his trips
extended TO Winona or La Crosse but
he always came home without assist
ance. He seemed 20 know the differ
ence between a friend and an enemy
at glance, but he never had much
trouble ON The trains. as the BOYS were
all friends Of his and he never suffered
for transportation or fresh beef On
the day OF the Willard celebration. a
young man who was in the habit OF
pett ng h m good deal, took him over
TO the Ii0pcer Press office, when it was
across the way. and tried 10 dress HIM
up in bunting Before the job was half
completed Jack filed remon,trance
in the shape Of two rows OF teeth, and
then left the Office in deep humilat ON.
He was never known to enter the Office
aftcrward or recogn ze hs former
friend
His pecularitics would fill a volume,
but | must cut OIL The bane Of his
life came in the shape of newsboys.
At first he responded to their agra
waiting familiarities by tearing out tho
seats of the pants. but as time advan-
ced and the boys became more venture
some and irritating, Jack learned to
take a iirmer hold touching the juvenile
anatomy in scores of cases The stu
alton at last became too serious. and
Mr.. Scott had to sh p Jack to farmer
FIR end in Wisconsin in order to put an
end TO the decorations and mayhem.
tell YOU he was smart one, and # no
is wing | want this story to serve rs a
tribute to his greatness, and if dead,
let it 90 as an cpitaph on his unknown
grave.