Telegram-herald., 1890-03-01
A BLOODY CONFLICT.
Eov Hs Saw the VIA Dogs of
AthAb2sca s-zd Was Sat-s6sd-

=
Ol6 Donald Mer2TtsA was . wonder
fully "a aseresring character. Ia the sers-
lie sf shs Hzdson's Bay Company. shica
FOR neatly tS0 hundred years held regal
s<sy ever The vast unkn0En northwest
ef Canada. hs had spsnt half . century
Of azdaO1s s1d exciting service. living
far away from clyllzz ton. one % a mere
handful Of White men In the nidst Of .
wilderness sparssly inhabited By the
Izdian and half-brssd, bas ab0undiag
Ia deer. bgraLOes. bears. valves sad ths
smaller Wild animals
he had risen rapidly IN the seEstce.
for hs vas fearless. stzneh, trust
WORTHY man. knd for the latter half Of
TO terms had nlled the in portzat post
OF chief factor az different forts. for il
Eas tis somewhat undesirable, II honor
able. ios 70 Do sent - thoss stations
th2t gave the most trouble and the least
returns u the company.
such sas bis reputation FOR shreEd-
ness. courage snd fidelity that IL was
felt By the authorities that no other
man could so soon set matters straight
as Donald McTavish.
Having filed out his tfty years with
entire satisfaction % his employers, and
10 small credit 20 himself, he had re-
tired on his laurels 20 spend hale and
hearty old age Ia the enjoyment OF the
comfortable pension awarded him by the
company which he had served so we'll
Il vas the delight Of his declining
DAYS % recount for the beneft Of
younger ears tho many thrilling Incl
dents ot his adventurous career, and
one OF his favorite stories was that
which / shall nov attempt 20 tell As
nearly as possible in his own words:
1T Vas early in the hfties when had
charge OF old Fort Assiniboine away out
on the Atbabasca river, not far from the
Rockies. Sir George simpson, the Gov
ernor OF the colony al Red River. like
the thoughtful man he was, had sent
out 10 ma By the spring brigade a splen-
did scotch staghOund. one Of half a
dozen be had Just brought with him
from the dear old land.
20 man. but he was dogl His back
was on q level with my belt, and when
he raised himself on his hind legs he
could put his fore-paws on my shoulders
and Pub noses with me, yet stood q
good six feet in my stockings in those
days
His hair was "a grizzled as old
Ephraim's, and coarse, and curled like
what they stuff beds with. His body
was long and lean, and SO was his head,
but he had a noble eye, and then the
way be could run and leap over every
thing that came in his path, is was
sight 70 see, i warrant you'll
We soon got very much attached to
each other, and wherever | went Bruce
went, too. He did not seem TO take TO
any one else, and / was just as we'll
pleased that be did not, for | never
wanted him out Of my sight.
That same summer = rev hand was
sent 70 the fort He was an Englishman.
who gave his name as Heathcote, and he
brought with him pure white female
bulldog that was one OF the most dan
gerous-looking brutes l ever laid eyes
on. She minded nobody but her mas
Ger. OF whom, 70 do her credit, she
seemed fond enough.
II never much cared for that breed Of
eoy, but I must say that Vixen was
about perfect in her way. AS 20 good
breeding there certainly wasn't much TO
choose between her and Bruce.
Il was little uneasy as to how the
two dogs would get on, and at first It
aid look as II there might be trouble,
for Bruce, who utterly despised the
rabbls OF ours hanging about the fort,
evidently felt disposed to resent the
coming OF this possible rival; but al
most before knew II the two were the
best Of friends, and would eat their
dinner side by side, like two well>be-
haved children
After awhile they took to going out
a-hunting together, and grand times
they had. They would work along In
company until herd OF deer was start
cd. and then Bruce would make for the
latest doe, his tremendous speed soon
bringing him 20 her throat. while
Vixen, folio wing at her best rate,
would come up just ii time to help him
finish her and then they would have 4
fne feast.
'Once the dogs got into these ways
neither Heathcote nor had much more
satisfaction out OF them. They were
never on hand when wanted. They
kept growing wilder and wilder, and
finally, toward autumn, they dissp-
peared ono day. and we're never seen at
the fort again
I'VE hunted for them high and low,
sending out the hslf-breeds as far "a
Lake Ia Crosse on the east. snd TO the
foothills OF the Rockies on the west.
but not a sign or trace could VIC find of
them. When winter came and they did
not return We gave them up as lost,
thinking that something must have hap
psned % them on ono OF their hunting
torsys, or that pcrchance they had been
killed by The Indians.
1.-TWO years went By. and Bruce and
Vixen we're almost forgotten, when
stories began 20 reach tie fort Of a
strange and fierce KIND Of Wild dog that
was being seen now and then by hunt
ers and trarpers in the out-of-the-wsy
yaiievs and rsvines OF the foothills
"It vas not an easy job 70 get az the
boston OF these stories. for they passed
from mouth 20 mouth before reaching Us
but at last a trapper turned up who had
seen \ pack % dogs himself, and after
hearing his description I had no longel
anvdoubts but shat these Wild dogs which
we're making such a STIR were the OF
sD~fnr ~ our two former pets. which had