The Daily times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1886-1889, 1888-10-12
AT THE DOG POUND.
EXECUTION CT THE DEATH SEN
TENcE ON UNFORTUNATE Ours.

a cur OF most unpropltious countnanCe,
and with a profusion Of white and liver
colored spots en- his hide, was snarliDg at the
corner Of Hoyne avenue and Madison street
A little boy with bare legs passed the crea-
ture, aud the cur snapped at him The same
instant, though, there was slight whir and
the dog catchers fatal moose was around the
homely brute's neck, tightening itself in
stantly. Without any further trouble the
man carried his prey 20 the peculiarly shaped
wagon, which is the hue OF jealousy. and
thrust il into the forward compartment.
There we're about score Of other unlucky
ours in il, 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 we're stunned aud
thoroughly cowed by the absence Of light
and the strange situation. The wagon ratified
on and few blocks further on in a side
stree. another dog was shared but this time
there was some trouble The little boy 10
whom the dog belonged showed fight and did
his best to wrest his unlicensed and I'M
muuled, hence unlawful, playmate out Of
the strong grasp Of the dog catehers. But,
Of course he couldn't do it, and the catcher
extended a hearty invitation 10 the boy 20
cons out 70 the dog pound and get his dog.
"Itll only cost you s. IS, be said. The little
boy at once began to shed tears and to run
home TO tell his ina about IT, But the wagon
was meanwhile, mile away, and an hour
later il drove 10 in the rear Of that new and
somewhat uncouth appearing building which
serves for dog pound in Chicago.
What's your catchp asked the pound
keeper
"Forty-seven. mostly no good, but there is
one valuable pointer among the lot was the
reply which the catcher made.
"That makes l96 for the day altogether.
And that's a good showing Last month we
caught 900 altogether Of which number 2O4
were redeemed the rest killed"
The Yves, side wagon was the last to come
in, the other two from the north and south
side; having already delivered up their quota
for the day There are seven dog catchers
out all the time with the three wagons. and
each wagon Is accompanied by an officer,
who sees 10 it tina, things are done fair and
square. Il will no, surprise many when II Is
stated hat the dog catchers life is not a
happy enc He is cursed and sworn az from
sunrise till shutdown and he gets very little
thanks for fulfilling his dangerous and pain
ful duties. And when IL is said painful It
is said adyisedly. 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, enc on
the face and the other had bis hand chewed
up pretty thoroughly. Bat they don't care
The snare they use is, by the way, as sim
pie a contrivauce rs 10 is effective. It is
made OF strong but very elastic brass wire,
with handle on one end and made into a
running loop. To throw il over the head Of
dog IS an instant doing. And once over
IL the loop tichtens Immediately 50 as 10
choke out any spirit Of resistance in the re-
fractory dog The wagons which serve as
che temporary receptacle FOR the "catch'
are made 20 hold about forty dogs Of as
sorted sizes. The forward bin is for the
small dogs, the rear one for the larger ones.
They arc closed with ids
There were jre. G,j dogs IN the pound
When the reporter called at the pound the
other day ~ tia. number, q short while
otter. but 800 remained Tho other rs had
been sent % tic place wGere aii bad, l. e. un-
licensed ami unmuzzed dogs are sent to in
Chicago The way Il was done was this: The
10 condemned were in one large kennel to
gether Immediately adjoining the death
chamber. Thee were a sorry looking lot
and many OF the,l iooked rs il they knew
what awaited chem. One aged old sinner Of
q inonSrel. hall poodle dog half shepherd
and with a few more strains Of other breeds
in him. SCI there IL the corner all alone by
himself llissnacgy head was poised in a med
itativc manner. and he calmly contemplated
tic motley crowd Of fellow sufferers with the
air Of an ancient philosopher. When any
dog in his vicinity whined or barked he
looked at him in q mildly reproachful man
ncr. He did not stir|from his corner until
the fatal moment came.
Preparations for the wholesale execution
having been made, the sentence Of death
passed on these rs was carried out swiftly
and without hitch. A good hot charcoal
fire having been made in the large stove in
the cdjoinins death chamber, the whole
seven dog catchers cn!ered the kennel On
seeing them the doomed dogs, with that in
stinct which i, nearly always intallible, set
W most unearthly howl, piteous 10 hear
The men were not Disconnected by that.
Gripping a dog by each hand they flung
them, pell nell, into capacious vat
which stood in the death chamber, but
opened on one side into the ken
mel Within a few minutes that vat was
crowded 10 the lid Nth l15 snarling, whining,
barking ours. Then a few handfuls Of pow
dered sulphur We're thrown on the charcoal
fte. and the fumes from this were directly
ccnycved into the vat by the stovePipe,
which ended in the vat itself Almost in
startiy the deafening noise ceased. The
fumes did their work 50 quickly aud so well
that two minutes suficed % Kill every one OF
the rs dogs Next the door Of the vat OPEN
ing into the rear yard Of the building was
swung and the rs canine carcasses were
quickly loaded on wagon and conveyed 20
q large fert!liging works. Thus ended LIES
dtful lever for these Isj. Their places IN the
kennel were at once taken by another hun
dre,l O.. mcngrel dogs, likewise put on the
death list, but their execution was postponed
another fortyeight hours. The whole thing
IS done IN rotation and according TO a sys-
tem.-Chicago Herald
Make Telegraph Poles Ornamental
Telegraph poles are about as unsightly as
ANYTHING that now straddles across our couu'
"a l.a 50