Daily Republican. [volume] ([Wilmington, Del.]) 1874-1890, 1889-04-12
BRIcE MecLAY's DOG SAM.

is considered the strongest roint dog
can have by good many people My
Sam don't banker for bsats In fact, !
believe that II he should ever catch sight
OF bear he'd die in his tracks. There
are plenty Of dogs that are little careful
how they go around where there are
bears, but who come out kt,ong on deer.
My dog eau smell q deer track mile
away, aud when he docs I'll be sure to
mud him home, and meybe up stairs under
the bed. Some dogs can't live aud be
happy unless they are continually yelping
at the heels of some misguided old for,
or barking oil night at shiyering coon
up "a Ire. Gam would stnrve to death if
he hat TO pass by 4 KS hole to get his
viotuals. One timc fetched In coon |
had killed and laid II on the Jorub with
out thinking OF Sans peculiar disposl-
ton. He went aud climbed into tie hny-
NOV and stayed there until the coon was
eaten next day. Some dogs are wi d with
delight When they ace their mes'ef take
down their guns. My Sam Is shyer Of q
gun than crow Is, and every body knows
that you can't get within mile oil u c .ow
with u gun on your shoulder.
"Did you ever fish for pickerel through
the ice? Il you did you know, of coutse,
that sometimes you may change your
quarters on the pond or river Il dozen
times during the day ami not get lish.
That is because the pcketel 70 ia schools
IN winter time, aud while you are ioolinx
around IN one place to fad them they
may be mile away just ookipE for u
chance at that live bait Of yougs By
the time you work up to where they are
they've more than likey worked OIL to
some other polut, AMI to Il goes uutil il
gets dark, and you have to 20 home with
nothing more than an emrty jug aud a
lew frozen ears and toea anu hugers. I've
boon there thousand tmes, bat Fever
since got Sam.
"fhe lrt time | ever raw that dog
show that he h d iuch II ding rs joy in
him was one winters day when he was
about year old. 1t was good day Tor
plckercl fishing through the ice, and
L'ok dow my tlp-ups aud line, TO 70 out
aud see il | couldn'tc ich II few. sam
had no sooner secn me take those tip ups
thsn he began to lLmp up GU me, and
bark and skip and almost throw himself
out of JOINT, he was 10 uncommon glad.
1t WIS ssch uew departure tlr Sam tuat
my wife yelled out itat he was mad aud
went and locked hos II in the sittn!
room AID holltrcd out through the key
hole for IN TO knock him Ia tue head
with the axe. But knew that Sam was
no more mad than | wM. / saw thai he
had sudden discovered that there was
solneih ng In lie TO make 1t worth living,
| didn't know what II was then, but l
found out.
"1u the way to tho ice Sam kept up
his joyful lamentations. VIII II We
got on the rive! ] b,gan to cut hoe. t.
put down my lines through the Ice. sam
tnelt around on The lee, ana every new
and then gave me lOOk o surprise b,
and by, as be smell around, he began 10
wag hi. tail MI / hay. I've heard hounds
On the deer Trail sad on the tOx trail, but
never did dog give tongue To such
music as Sam let out over that su face Of
Ice. Straight Ghrsd he went, yelling at
every jump. ! made up my mind that
Was another OF his veeuliaritl-s, aud went
on cutting my hoius aud putting iu my
lines. Sam went on tlr an eighth Oh Il
mile up the river aud there stopped. He
whisked around ON the ise over eps e
OF two OF three reds, leaping and BARKING
aud looking back a. me.
That dogs crazy, sure l sail, and
went on hshlug.
"But | didn't catch ANYTHING, and IN
an hour or so pulled up In disgust to try
my luck somewhere else. Gam Was sill
going through his queer antics gu the
Ice, aud made M my mind I'D 20 up
aud see II 1t meaut anything particular,
tut when got there | couldn't ste any
thing out Of the way. The tpol looked
like II good one to fish IN, and | cut snlne
holes and put dOSu my lines. | had hit
the spot, and Tor half IN hour " kf pit mt
busy pulling out piekerel aud batting
lines. Then they quit biting. didn't
catch fish for Ten minutes. Suddenly
heard Sam yelling again, and looking
around there | SAW him with his noee
close to the ice, and hts tail waggiug aud
his voice going tor all the world like u
round on the deer trail. He cut across
probably 800 yards, and st ppcd agaiH.
wasn't smart enough tn see OF once
what Sam WAS up to, and not until | had
pulled up again and put IN my lines at
the last place Sam won't yelpiug to, aud
had hauled cut a hundred or so picke'el
there, when they stopped biting again,
and Sam had started off IN another hi-
rection yelping ns he had before, did the
whole force OF the thing strike me. Sam
was trai ing them pickerel from place to
p ace, and all | had TO do was to pull up
and follow h IN. And may be- Sam AID |
didn't make II Uncomfortable for picGerel
that day.
But pckerel trailing amt Sans only
strong point. There's only one other
thing that can arouse him TO joyfuluoss,
and that is terrapin tracking. Just as
Sans genius as pickcrel dog only
shines when there's Ice on the water, so
must he have ice 10 bring him out us II
terrapin dog. II is only when the terra
pin has gone to sleep in It's holes In the
bottom OF the Juniata, with the ice ir, zen
thick above It, aud the animal, or what
ever it Ia, is hard to get, that my dog
Sam Is terror 10 1t The second time
ever saw Sam glad was a few days alter |
discovered bis greatness as pickcrel
dog. ! had taken my long.handled ter
rapin ecoop to go out on the river, think
ing ! might accidentally discover the
hiding place oil dozen or two green
heads, as they were worth IS a dozeI that
season. Sam went crazy again But
never thought that he would develop
into terrapln chaser as he bad into an
iniallible locator Of pickerel. But he
did. He took me TO eight different ter
rapin holes, and got harvest that was
worth more than big hay Held, l no
ticed, too, that Sans yelp on a terrap!n s
trail was entirely different from the one
he used when after pickerel, go there was
no mistake but he knew what he was up
to and what was after.
zone winter Sam surprised me by re-
fusing 10 trail piokercl, but he WAS wild
after terrapin. l hGmoTed him, aud
gathered in a great many dozen green.
heads. understood when l came TO
Harrisburg why Sam had gone back Oh
pickerel fishing and insisted on my gath
erng terrapin. The market was glutted
) with pickerel, and they were selling for