Barbour County index. [volume] (Medicine Lodge, Kan.) 1880-current, 1888-02-22

l III ~ rrArl NN.I - NtNlM III NFuuulc.
NlS4rO-..A NVAAhA 1 do not know Mr..
ON Ia NV COburn, but | once
A., .IsE< had the pleasure Of
SAN,t -. 49, meeting his dog at
- Fort McRaA n. NJ,
during the balmy spring months Of 1874. II
h an unwrittcn law and "a cast-iron custom
OF Tho service That every company Ia the
United States army shall own n dog, with
the rank, pay and CmOlumcuts Of Company
Dog and 10 bee respected accordingly Said
dog has regularly the run OF the barracks,
Frequently tho run OF the kitchen aud occa-
sionally run Of bad luck, and 10 this rule
the Company Dog or Troop II, Eighth Cav
airy, was no exception
lie was large dog. with rough hair, bow
legs aud an alkaline disposition, and the
rcd.hcaded recruit ma whose society nc came
30 us confessed that he had Enormously OBJ
tanned him from Joe Coburn, and partly on
account Of these personal characteristics,
and partly because of his distinguished der
ivation, he was taken at once 20 the bar
racks and Installed as Company Dog with
the title Of cold jack
There were four other dogs ut Fort Nc
Rca One was the dOctOr's-a lOng-legged,
NANCY, hair-lippcd, liver-colorcd Il refer
now 90 the dog, not the DOCTOR, lop-eared
hound, with a sore eye and great preda-
tory fonducss for steak, chops or any other
dclicacics which happened to be cooking in
the neighborhood. He got a regular wallop-
ing every morning from my cook, another
every noon from the company cook, and
with odd wallopings thrown IN from time
20 time by the doctor his career as thief
was not without excitement
Besides the Doctors dog there were three
others-Captain Engcl's dog dot" half
King Charles, half Chihuahua; Johnny
Ayres' yellow pup Tommy" half mon
grel, half cur, and the terrier "Fan," be-
longing 10 Lieutenant FarnswOrth, who had
q history and only one eye-that is, the ter
rier had.
or course, when Old Jack arrived there
was fluttcr In canine circles Of Fort Nc
Rae. There was considerable more fiutter
about five minutes later. Old Jack prompt
ly mounted the doctors dog, scalloped his
ears, chewed his tail and gave Linn game
Leg all inside Of four seconds; then chased
Johnny Ayres' pup into tho Quarter
masters corral, whore sad-eyed and
lurking mule kicked the pup over the fence,
and then, followed joyously by Dot and Fan,
Old Jack marched proudly 10 his new quar-
ters and was Installed
Things began 10 froshon up at Fort Nc
Rae. Having asserted his authority, old
Jack and the other dogs became fast friends
and used 20 gambol together on the parade
ground. chase the same jackrabbit and in
dulgo In other athletic sports without hard
feelings. One day old Jack and Johnny
Ayrcs' pup were playing tag, and il was
the pups turn % catch. Old Jack started,
led the pup twice around the guard-houso,
over across the parade, then over TO the
luundrcss quarters. A cauldron Of soft
soap had just been set out 10 cool, and old
Jack made % break for t. Ho cleared II
with case, but Che pup didn't, and the laun-
dress came out and lanmcd him for spelling
the soap, aud thore wasn't much left Of tho
pup when Ayrcs arrived but big blister
and some loose hair ard yclls.
Another time tho DOCTORS dog was OK
changing tho compliments Of the season with
several Mexican dogs whose owners had
come over 90 trudc in the store. Every
thing was peaceful until old Jack landed
IN tho thick OF tho party and got up a
rough-aud- tumble and just as IL was at its
height hc slipped out from the cloud OF dust
and-oft the doctors dog To enjoy the ro-
suit, which was that hc was Land up for a
month.
Then old Jack got 20 be musical, and
whenever the trumrctCr vert out 20 sound
a call DO aud the other dogs would sit
around in "a solemn c..c.c and sing second
Whether 10 was tho fault Of the trumpctcr
or the fault of Che dogs, 10 is certain that the
buglo calls ut Fort McI,oc got Of the lines
prescribed by the regulations and the trum-
peter, the dogs and a club got into trouble
several consecutive times, and the musical
kindergarten and tho dogs were broken up
together.
Tho burst OF warm weather in carly Nav
gave Tho dogs n new employment There
are murmots In New Mexico, and these 81
gacious animals mako their first appear
nuco from thCir burrows just after the snow
has cleared on and the cacti are preparing
20 bloom. Old Jack, having come from the
North, naturally thought IL would DO both
feasible and great fun 90 dig for a marmot
he had chased into "a burrow Just back OF
tho corral, and Ayrcs' pap and The Doctors
dog hadn't bcttcr sense than TO join in.
They dug and dug, and paved dirt and
yclpod with excitement, each from time to
time plunging his nose down and taking a
Eniu, while the marmOt had merely gone 70
tho other end Of the burrow, which was in
Arizona, perhaps, or Colorado, may be, or
old MeXh.o or Texas, and curled up for a
nup.
The dogs dug until dinner time and then
knocked of for an hour, returning with
fresh vigor about 80 o'clock p. m. The
doctors dog started i'm at the excavation
nude In the morning, and old Jack and
Ayrcs' pup began at another hole few feet
away, whilC Fan and Dot looked on and en-
couragod them. Tho hole selected by Ayres,
pup was once tonantcd by a marmot, but
had been prc-cmptcd during the previous
summer by large and multiplying colony