Rock Island daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1886-1893, 1888-10-10
AT THE DOG POUND.
EXECUTION OF THE DEATH SEN
TENCE ON UNFORTUNATE Ours.


The Dog Catcher's Method of Capturing
Unlicensed and Unmuzzled Brutes-The
Fatal Moose and the Green Wagon.
Dangerous and Painful Duties
A cur of most unpropitious countenance, |
and with profusion of white and liver |
colored spots on his hide, was snarling at the |
corner of Hoyne avenue and Madison street. |
A little boy with bare legs passed the crea-
ture, and the cur snapped at him. The same
instant, though, there was a slight whir and
the dog catcher's fatal moose was around the
homely brute's neck, Tightening itself in
stantly. Without any further trouble the
man carried his prey to the peculiarly shaped
wagon, which is the hue Of jealousy, and
thrust it into the forward compartment.
There were about score of other unlucky
ours in it, and as the lid opened and the
newly arrived tumbled among them, there
was an instantaneous concert made up of
yelps, whines and hacking barks. Then
the lid closed once more and utter dark
ness and silence reigned in the COM
partment. The dogs were stunned and
thoroughly cowed by the absence of light
and the strange situation. The wagon ratified
on and a few blocks further on in side
street another dog was SHARED, but this time
there was some trouble. The little boy to
whom the dog belonged showed fight and did
his best TO wrest his unlicensed and un-
muzzled, hence unlawful, playmate out of
the strong grasp of the dog catchers. But,
of course, he couldn't do it, and the catcher
ax-tapAnA arfr irr- tot f1 he lox- O.,
come out to the dog pound and get his dog.
''It'll only cost you s.. rs" he said The little
boy at once began to shed tears and to run
home to tell his ma about it But the wagon
was meanwhile, a mile away, and an hour
later it drove up in the rear of that new and
somewhat uncouth appearing building which
serves for dog pound in Chicago.
Whats your catch" asked the pound
keeper
'Forty-seven, mostly no good, but there is
one valuable pointer among the lot, N was the
| reply which the catcher made
That makes 1876 for the day altogether.
And that's a good showing. Last month we
caught 800 altogether, of which number 9O4
were redeemed, the rest killed.
| The west side wagon was the last to come
| in, the other two from the north and south
sides having already delivered up their quota
for the day There are seven dog catchers
ont all the time with the three wagons, and
each wagon is accompanied by an officer,
who sees 10 it that things are done fair and
square. Il will not surprise many when it is
stated that the dog catchers' life is not Q
happy one. He is cursed and sworn at from
sunrise till sundown, and he gets very little
thanks for fulfilling his dangerous and pain
full duties. And when it is said painful it
is said advisedly. For these catchers are, de-
spite their practice and their skill, bitten
quite frequently. Two of the best of them
were bitten severely the other day, one on
the face and the other had his hand chewed
up pretty thoroughly. But they don't care
The snare they use is, by the way, as sim.
pie q contrivance as it is effective. IL Is
made of strong but very elastic brass wire
with handle on one end and made into @
running loop. To throw it over the head Of
dog is an instant's doing. And once ovel
it tine loop tightens Immediately so as tt
choke out any spirit Of resistance in the re
fractory dog. The wagons which serve a.
the temporary receptacle for the catch
are made to hold about forty dogs Of as
sorted sizes The forward bin is for tn,
small dogs, the rear one for the larger ones
They are closed with lids
, There were just 675 dogs in the pounC
when the reporter called at the pound tn
other day OF that number, a short Will
after, but 500 remained. The other 175 ha'
been sent to the place where all bad, l. g. un
licensed and uumuzzled, dogs are sent to il
Chicago. The way it was done was this: Tn
l75 condemned were in one large kennel to
gether Immediately adjoining the deaf
chamber. They were sorry looking lot
and many of them looked as il they kney
what awaited them. One aged old sinner O
a mongrel, half poodle dog, half shepherd
and with few more strains of other breed
in him, sat there in the corner all alone b
himself Hisshaggy head was poised in med
itative manner, and he calmly contemplate
the motley crowd of fellow sufferers with tn
air of an ancient philosopher When an
dog in his vicinity whined or barked b
looked at him in a mildly reproachful maj
ner. He did not stir from his corner unit
the fatal moment came.
Preparations for the wholesale executio
having been made, the sentence Of deaf
passed on lese us was carried out swift
and without a hitch. A good hot charco
fire having been made in the large stove
= the adjoining death chamber, the who
seven dog catchers entered the kennel
seeing them the doomed dogs, with that il
stinct which is nearly always infalible, 8
up most unearthly howl, piteous to hea
The men were not Disconnected by tina
Gripping a dog by each hand they fur
" them, pell nell, into capacious Vi
which stood in the death chamber, b
y opened on one side into the ke
mel. Within a few minutes that vat W
crowded to the lid with 175 suarling, whinin
barking ours. Then few handfuls Of POI
dered sulphur were thrown on the charco
fire, and the fumes from this were direct
conveyed into the vat by the stovepiT
which ended in the vat itself. Almost !
stantly the deafening noise ceased. T
fumes did their work so quickly and SO W
that two minutes sufficed to kill every one
the Us dogs. Next the door of the vat ope
ing into the rear yard of the building "
swung and the 1.5 canine carcasses We
quickly loaded on a wagon and conveyed
a large fertilizing works. Thus ended lif
fitful fever for these IT'S. Their places in t
kennel were at once taken by another hu
o dred of mCngrel dogs, likewise put on I
death list, but their execution was postpon
another forty eight hours. The whole thi
is done in rotation and according to s,
n