San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1889-09-11
DROVE A DOG TO SUICIDE.
HEATHENS OF THE STREETS PUR-
SUE AND A CROWD LOOKS ON.
The Poor, Painting Brute Deliberately Lies
Down Twice on the Pavement in Front
of a Truck-wounded, but Not Killed.
A Bullet Ends His Pains.

neck"
He was barefooted, hatless, coatless boy.
There were a dozen of the young rascals, and
they were chasing poor dog down Wooster
street Yesterday. The dog was a hoodlum,
too-a shabby mongrel with leather strap
about his neck and a bit Of rope hanging from
the strap. He had been foraging in the gar.
bage barrels when the boys got at him.
Stones, sticks, anything they could pick up
they ''fired" at the dog. He was a big fellow,
who, despite his lack of flesh, weighed per-
haps sixty pounds, and if he hadn't been so
worn out by hunger and so weary by the
chase, it is more than likely he could have
turned about and made his mark in the
annals of Blocker street.
TRIED TO COMMIT SUICIDE
But he didn't have spunk enough to fight,
and at Prince street he tried to escape by
lodging up toward Broadway. 1t was about
lO:45 a. m When the dog and the boys got to
Broadway, and straightway there was hub
bub Business men and clerks and girls in
the shops came to the windows, stood in the
doorways, and some went out upon the street
to see the cause of all the excitement. few
cancdal souls raised the cry of mad dog"
Tired dog or scared dog would have fitted
the circumstances better. The dog painted
and painted, and more than once slipped as
he ran. Some of the stones had hit him, and
there were marks on his body where he had
half rolled over the muddy stones.
When the dog had got about in front of
Niblo's he turned and looked at his enemies.
They were as relentless ever, and their
chance to stand right over the dog and pelt
him was greater than it had been at any
other point in the hunt. The dog seemed to
take all this in, and, giving up his straight
run up the street. he cut off suddenly across
the roadway, and reaching the car tracks,
stood there for moment in apparent doubt.
On both sides of the street were hundreds of
men. They God up on their ends the same
as the boys did, they had white faces like
the boys; they all seemed just as much his
foes as did the boys, and if dogs can reason
at all, this dog had to reason that there was
not one man in all that crowd who would be
his protector Perhaps the dog reasoned that
there was no way of escape; perhaps that
try to run where he might, he would be
stoned and kicked; perhaps he didn't reason
at all but it appeared to scores Of men on
the street that the pursued creature did hest
tate before doing what won from all who saw
it an ejaculation of pity.
He had reached the car track. No car was
coming, but just few feet away heavy
truck, drawn by a team of bay horses, was
rumbling along. The dog had halted at the
track and looked around at all the crowd that
seemed new allies of the band that had hec
tored him 80 long. He gave glance at them
and then, with all the slowness of human de-
liberation, he walked to the track and lay
down. The crowd could see that the feet OF
the big horses must trampls upon the dogs
body, and that then the wheels would pass
over him. Any dog of ordinary sense would
have known the same thing, and this dog
seemed to know it, He hay down on the
track, with his head right over the rail. The
driver could not stop his team, and when the
horses reached the dog shout went up from
those who saw the horses feet just Craze the
dogs neck. The heavy truck pushed the dog
off the track out of harms way. The dog was
safe.
THE WELCOME BULLET
But safety didn't seem to be what he " ant
ed, and when he found that he was still alive
he jumped up and ran up in advance of the
wagon and again laid himself on the track,
This time he got hurt. The injury was not
sufficient to kill him. but it was 50 smart a
wound that it apparently took the idea Of
suicide from the dog, and, with all that
strength that comes to men and bFutes alike
when they are tortured by the agony OF sud
den shocks, the dog leaped from beneath the
wheels with howl Of pain and dashed with
desperation at the crowd on the west side OF
Broadway IN front Of the Manhattan cafe
The crowd now thought that the dog was
dangerous. They parted before him, and
without srsrving he made straight ahead.
He happened to be going straight toward the
door leading TO the salesroom of Maerlsnder
Brothers fur house. The Masrlenders oceu.
py the upper part of the building at $50
Broadway and have their salesroom on the
first floor, above the Manhattan cafe. Up
the stairway the dog sprang.
Tho door to the salesroom was open, and be
ran in there, ran the length of the long room,
back to the little partitioned off private Office,
and darted in there. The bookkeeper and one
of the Maerlender brothers were in the pr.
vate Office and they were scared. They stood
close against the wall and let the dog rush
past them. He jumped out of the window,
bowling all the while The window looks out
ON the space between the Maerlender build
ing and one behind it, and this space on the
ground floor is built up to level with the
windows of the Maerlender private office
The roof covering this extension is of glass,
and out there the dog ran, painting and per.
spring. He did not seem mad, but rather
exhausted. He Crawled over to one side OF
the roof, where a paSSageway connects the
two buildings. Here he hid himself as well
as he could.
Meanwhile, there was much fuss on Broad
way. The street was blocked with people
who couldn't s,a ANYTHING b1tr saarneI bound