The Bottineau pioneer. (Bottineau, N.D.) 1885-1895, 1889-12-21
HOW GOT THAT PRESENT

The greater part Of the following narra-
tive will be recognized as historical. That
part Of it which Is not found in history is
clearly shown to be true by the attendant
circumstances
On July 2, 1776, three English men-of-
war and a division of transports passed
through the Narrows, at the entrance to
New York Bay, and anchored of Staten
Island. The grenadiers and light infantry
put of in row boats, while the Long Island
shore reverberated with the gums Of the
Americans. Among the small boats was
one which bore Gen. Howe, ~commander-in-
chief Of the British forces, and standing on
the gunwale Of the boat, ~anxiously watching
the near approach to land, was the Generals
favorite dog, a Scotch collie, by the name
of Frolic. AS the boat grated IN the sands
the log leaped ashore with a joyous bark,
and capered about in great glee. The
troops being landed, the General betook
headquarters. As the night approached,
time, and called him. No one remembered
seeing the ~favorite collie since the landing
of the troops, and it was evident after a
time that he was lost. The General at once
sat down and indited the following notice:
1--WE POUNDS REWARD-Lost, a collie
dog, answering to 20 name of Frolio. The
above reward will be given to any one return
maander-in-ch Chief Of his Ma13estie's Army.
The notice was laid aside to be posted the
nex day, but for some unknown reason
was neglected, and lay undisturbed among
the private papers of the British General.
It was in the early part of December,
1886, that I lay back in my easy chair and
thought over my condition. It was any
thing but promising, and my reflections were
of the most pessimistic kind. In the first
place, a Christmas gift had to be purchased
for a certain person, and I had not the
money with which to get it. I had not de-
cided just what kind Of a present to make,
but it would have to be a nice one; for al
though I was not engaged then to this
somebody, I expected to be. I could not
buy anything on credit, for those who did
not know me would most certainly refuse to
trust me, and those who did know me were
of the same mind. I pictured to myself
how the sweet black eyes of somebody
would sparkle if the present was forthcom-
ing at the proper moment, and then I saw
the look of regret she would wear should I
call on Christmas Eve without any little
token to show my deep love and affection.
Girls always like substantial proofs of such
things; the more substantial, the better.
Something had to be done, and so I thought,
considered, ruminated, and reflected, but
with no better success than deciding that I
must get that present; how to get it, I gave
up.
In "a spirit of desperation, born of
despair" I looked through my pockets, and
turned them inside out in the hope Of find
ing a stray bank-note, but none appeared.
Fate led me to further ransack all my chests
and papers, and while examining some old
documents that had passed into my posses
sion I came across a notice, signed by Lord
Howe, Of the British army, Offering five
pounds reward for the return of a dog. It
was an odd-looking old thing, with the
Generals seal in great red wax on it, and I
gazed at it curiously. As I read, the bark
of a dog was heard in the yard. "Frolic,"
I repeated, re-reading the notice, and then
suddenly the truth flashed across my mind.
This dog whose bark had sounded from be-
low was the descendant of the dog for whom
the reward was offered. I thought over the
matter, n was sure Of it. My grand
father, then but a boy, had witnessed the
landing of the British troops. Deeming it
nc sin, as the son Of a staunch patriot, to
confiscate the property of the enemy,
he had allowed the dog to follow
him home. That it was the dog of the En-
glish Gener there was no doubt, and when
his father was obliged, on account Of often
sive craftsmanship, to remove to New Jersey.
the dog went alcng. My grandfather liked
the name of Frolic, and retained it for the
dogs descendants. The direct line of de-
scent was clearly proven by the genealog-
ical table that had been carefully kept, and
the pedigree Of my dog was without ques-
ton. Could I not recover the reward? I
considered the matter, and decided that if I
heirs of Lord Howe, I could claim the re-
ward with compound interest. At, say.
five per cent, it would amount to a great
sum-some thousands of pounds. I felt
sure that the claim would be disputed, but I
was equally certain that the money belonged
to me, for had I not the papers offering the
reward, in Lord Howe's own handwriting.
and a descendant Of the original dog as
well?
To shorten my story, I sat down at once
and wrote to my lawyer, stating the facts
and inclosing the paper I had found. A
few days dragged slowly by, while I decid-
ed over and over again how I would spend
my fortune when I got it. A great part of
it, made up my mind, would go for the
present. At last the reply came, and en-
closed with the letter was a check. I had
told my lawyer to compromise if necessary.
and l thought that he had consulted with
some legal brother, and had sent me a part
of the money to show that he believed nv
case a sure one, or else he had ar
ranged matters by cable. At any rate
I did not examine the check at
once, but laid it aside to read the letter. AS
read, my face fell. My case, wrote the
lawyer, was a very ingenious one, but he
would not care to undertake it. He had.
however, shown the old notice to some an.
%tiquarian friend, and had disposed of it to
him, for the sake Of the Generals auto
graph, for five dollars. Further, said the
: lawyer, Lord Howe had left no heirs. Hon
ing that I would be satisfied with the check