The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1890-07-27
/ PET OF CONGRESS.
smart Dog Ridge, Who Asso-
ci.tes With Statesmen.
pelNks SEER WITH SENATORS.


w.u,xoron err. July 2i.-(copy-
1890 .1--()ne IL the most remarkapie
,s.sestr ehnrncters in Washington lives on
%-w-nener Row. This Is the block be-
esrs.n PennsvIvania avenue and street,
=, rourfernfh. Il is lined with newspaper
1920 and his individual goes from one
,15ice g enofher every night and holds con-
ferenoes vifh The various correspondents.
n e ecounlnted with many senators and
,-rresrnfnffyes. and he often takes part IN
80 IittIe dinners Of the correspondents,
sIftine Il - table with them and getting
~~.v wifh hfs portion Of beer and soft
ehelied $500 ouite Is rapidly Is the rest OF
he party. et,Il, he Is less than loot tan,
ana liz ~ Wild man in the circus, ne mas
hnir II orr his person. He - Scotn ter.
-. "a his name is Fidge. He is about
~ - * he ordinary white poodle, and
~ - the brightest Of black
evea shinine ont Of q bushy face.
He q. however, the brightest
a. Il g. United States and he has had
nafiono1 roputation through his Washing
IN lricxs for The past Eve years. Senator
Blofr colls him Socrates, and he says he
bolIoyoo thst be contains the soul OF some
no nan Of the past which in the course
of III txansmfgrati0n Is now inhabifing
~ h sometimes sits for hours in the
n11rnnoer ofFice OF the st. Paul Globe prac-
1iclne On this dogs wonderful intelligence,
and % BE plays with him he talks to him.
SAVING, sFidge, am sure that IN the aeons
q IL past you were some great man. And
would have thee tell some of thy past ex-
rIoncss. Perhaps you were Plato and
6Souted philosophy, even IS some senators
AZ on education. Perchance you were
1ocrates, or you may have been OF Roman
H|r1h and the same soul that voices forth
So,,r bark may have conceived the orations
g Cesar or given forth the clear classics of
Cicero. Tell me, Fidge. which was il? If
you can't speak American. speak Greek or
Latin, and win try to understand you.'
urs. Senator Davis is well acquainted
With Edge, and when she meets its owner
she irst asks after the dog ard then wants
% know how the baby is getting along.
Senator Pettigrew is fond of Fidge, and
though The dog has met him but two or
fhree times be remembered him and recog-
nined him after . two years absence. Not
long aeo Governor Swineford, of Alaska,
paid : visit to Washington. Mr.. Smith
Frye, Edges owner, was looking for him,
and be went through Wizards hotel and
fEiIed 70 find him. He stopped in at the
billiard room, but saw no one he knew until
h. started to go out, when q man in dark
corner Of the room beckoned to him. He
went over and it was Governor Swineford.
As the governor shook hands he said:
Your dog has better eyes than you have.
He remembered me, and when he saw me
playing billiards over here he came over and
caught hold of my pantaloon leg with his
teeth and pulled at it till l looked down,
when he rose on his hind feet and offered
ne his hand. It is four years since / saw
him and his memory is good.
The manager Of Forepaugh's circus saw
Edge 9 year or two ago, and he offered
Frye 81 900 for him. Congressman Stahl-
necker, Of New York, is another Of Fidge's
admirers, and Fidge and he often drink
glass OF beer together, Stahlnecker, CT
course. doing the treating. Fldge laps his
boer ont of his own glass, and he is SO
cleanly that no one would object to drink
ing altar him. His master first discovered
his intelligence through the dogs desire to
b clean. He bought him as pup and
paid $40 Tor him. When he took him home
he found that the puppy was covered with
deas, and that he needed bath of patent
soap every morning to get rid of these.
Nh. Frye disliked this bathing very much,
and one morning he said, while
Fidge was lying on the floor. "WelI, /
suppose | must 60 and give that blamed
dog his BATH" whereupon Fidge jumped
up and trotted upstairs and jumped of his
own accord into the tub prepared for him.
~ was at this time that his mas
ter got the idea of trying to teach him Ger.
tain words and to make him understand to
: certain extent his conversation, The dog
learned wonderfully. and now he has yo.
cabulary OF about 800 words, and he can
carry three or four ideas in his head at
the same time. The other day his mis-
tress, wanting to go out, found at the
frortdoor that she had forgotten her pocket
book. She said to Fidge, 81 want You to
so upstairs, 60 into my room and bring
down my pocketbook. which is on the bu
reau-" Fidge ran up, jumped on chair
beside the bureau. got the pocketbook and
came down with il in his mouth. In this case
no motioning was done, and the dog un-
derstood the words. He carried the idea of
the bedroom, the pocketbook and the bu
reau in his mind at the same time. and
also that he was to go and bring the pocket
book.
Not long ago Correspondent FRYE was
not feeling very well. and he gave Fidge a
dime wrapped in piece of paper and told
him to take 1t to drug store, mentioning
tho name OF the store, which was one where
he and Fidge had often been. He wrapned
. note around the dime. and Fiage. taxing
II in his mouth, started out. Ten minutes
later he returned with Seidlitz powder
which the clerk had given him, and his
change Tor the dime. Frye often send,
him Tor cigars to certain cigar store. and
he understands the name of Wizards hotel
rs well as he does his own. Sometimes
Mrs. Frye win tell Fidge that she believes
his master is at Wizards. and will Owe
MIN note 70 take to him. Fidge goes
straight TO the hotel and finds his master
and gives him the note. Edge also takes
letters to the postoffice. There is a little
door at one end of the delivery window
and he pushes one raw against this
and gets inside and holds nm the
correspondence which he il carrv-
ing in his mouth to little old man who =
canceling stamps there. His master hes
never lost letter intrusted to him. and he
has carried columns upon columns of man.
uscript for newspaper publication to the
postofice.
All the newspaper correspondents Of
Washington know Fdge and | dropped
into his Office last night and had a seance
with him and his master. A momsnt
later Amos Cummings came in. and for
half an hour the dog went throueh yar;.
Gus performances. His master usss No
motions Whatever and spoke to him in a
tone, asking him 70 do this