The Portland daily press., 1889-11-15

in the French service these night attacks
would have been successfully parted by the
French. In the theory of war, at least, no
surprise is admissible, least of all a night
surprise, for then the utmost vigilance is sup
posed to be eXerted.
A race of highly-intelligent dogs without
perhaps, much moral sense have grown upon
the confines OF France and Belgium and Il Q
Spanish frontier. From the smugglers'
school Of dog instruction Lieut.. Jupin has
acquired many useful suggestions. The dog
census of what Is called les chienS frdudeurS
Is big one-lOO, O0O-and they carry contra
band goods from Belgium to France, princi
pally tobacco lace, and coffee. At first the
puppy is familiarlzed with the goods he is to
carry, SO that he knows pretty much the
character of the merchandise. When still a
pqny and unsophisticated dog the smugger,
WHO mas treated him so far kindly, acts to-
WARD MN as does the bad uncle in Aladdin"
de carries him beyond the border, and leaves
MIN with brother smuggler who pens up
doggy. AT night he is united, gets good
IlcKlng instead of supper. and is allowed to
escape. VI course he makes all the speed he
eau TO find his dear old master and his
cherished keunel at home. Once there he is
rewarded with lump of sugar and caresses.
Inc dog has number of experiences of this
Kind, beginning with the stick and ending
with the sugar Then ne knows by heart
that as soon as he gets away from his home
1t Is expected that he will make the quickest
and shortest tracks homeward. Then he is
loaded for the first time with light burden.
and If he gets through al! right in time he
carries his regular pack. After while not
one dog, but whole band of them, move on
together, but there is something move than
this.
Only the common dogs are the beasts of
burden, for there are animals among them
endowed with a superior intelligence. The
cleverest OF these graduates acts as the
leader. He has no tobacco or lace to carry.
He is the captain. He noses out the way
II there is danger .he steer the other dogs
them through a by-track out of the line of
the trouble. But set thief to catch thief,
and so the French dOudnier has been taught
his lesson, and as limitation is the sincerest
dattery," he, too, has his trained politico-
economic. dog, whose business it is to find
out and thwart the lodges and douDlings of
the smugglers' dogs.
Lieut. Jupin does not tell exactly which of
the two kinds OF dogs are the cleverer. Ger
tainly we are not going to express pubcicly
our sympathies. or advance the idea that
overprotection induces in both men and dogs
a certain loss of selfrespect, flabbiness Of
mental fibre. but from what we have heard
the commercial Belgian dog far exceeds in
cleverness The French Governmental dog
nine times out Of ten. M. Jupin tells us that
of 1,033 Custom House officers, who have for
auXiliaries over 805 dogs, and that the CAP
ture of the free trade dog amounts to about
one in the huldred. Evidently the French
dog has not his heart in the business.
The particular duties M. Jupin would en-
tail on the are various. In all cases it is his
vigilance which is to be called upon. A
sentinel has his dog, and the animals warns
the man OF the approach of friedd or an
enemy. In reconnaissance dogs run on in
advance and signal the presence of the
enemy, ne matter where concealed. If dogs
are used in an advance there in the impos-
s'bility OF laundering into an ambuscade.
In thanking supports on march dogs would
be equally serviceable. In the rear no sud-
den attack could be made If dogs were taught
night dog or number of them would give
notice of an enemy's approach. This all
follows the natural instincts of the animal
and he requires but little instruction.
Where education and training comes in is
in making dogs the method of communica-
have dog attached to 1t, the dog wearing a
collar. A few words written on bit of
paper and slipped into the collar could be
carried by the dog to an advance post or to
tells how it is done. the dog following the
direction given him by the motion Of the
soldiers hand or of any soldiers who hap
pen to see him. AS dog can travel fast
and pass through, over, and under obstacles
woGa stop man, message could
than by mounted courier A dog can be
made to swim rivers which man on horse
back would find troublesome. M. Jupin
calls tins dog, specially trained, "le CHEN
ly the French words.
There Is one service M. Jupin believes
dog capable of performing which seems to
us to be rather more difficulty to accomplish.
He proposes that the dog be used. during
action, as carrier of ammunition. A French
soldier when on the line of battle is supposed
to be able to get as maximum supply not
less than 175 cartridges. The rs rounds the
man carries have to be supplemented by 81
more. The ammunition wagons are supposed
to furnish all deficiencies, and between the
wagons and the firing line soldiers bring the
men additional cartridges il they are wanted.
Ihls service space is just as dangerous as
the front, and carrying on their duties, many
men must be killed: Would dogs supply the
places of the regular ammunition distribu-
torsP M. Jupin's dogs, then, are to be
trained like the smugglers' dogs, and are to
carry their loads of cartridges between the
points of supply and demand, and he gives
us the picture of an exceedingly wide awake
dog who has strapped on both sides of him
case containing cartridges.
After the battle there can be no doubt that
the dog. If employed to find out the wounded.
Oh the untold misery of the poor wounded
man who, at nightfall, drags himself behind
tree or hedge and cannot move. At the
military manGuvre at Lubon, the Prussions
tried what dogs might do if used to find out
"make-believe" wounded men. After the
sham battle certain men were told off who
were to hide themselves in Out-of-the-way
places and play dead. The dogs found them
all out and, more than that the sagacious
brutes ran to litter bearers and tho ambu-
lance corps and brought them at once to the
places where the men had dropped.
Some of the methods of training are anus
ing, but they all enter into the category of
serious dog lessons. If France has no friend
iy feeling towards Prussia she takes
dummy, dresses it like German, and the
| dog is taught to attack it. He has this i'm
| pressed on his canine mind-that the dummy
| hates him and has stick concealed some
where. Ii necessary. the French property
| man can change the dress of the dummy and
make him an Italian.
| What breed of dog is the best for military
| purposes is not yet quite deciced upon. Ex-
cellent results have been derived from set
| tiers, but settlers which have never been
| hunted. The shepherd dog, the most intelli-
| gent of all animals, Nj. Jupin tells us, has
showed excellent traits. The Germans use
that peculiar, ugly, numbering bluehound,
which has not, we think, a single redeeming
trait. For outpost duty fox terrier, with
his nervous activity add quickness. makes a
| good dog. The trailing qualities of the fox
| hounds would be often called in use. The
color Of the dog should be looked at, as white
dogs would be too visible. There are many
'yaller dogs. perhaps, which would be
eXcelent-herOeS, in fact whose fine
| qualities have never been appreciated
| Crosses with ST. Demands, even Of the mas
| tiff, might make good war dogs"