The Dickinson press., 1890-03-08
LITTLE STORIES OF ANIMALS.
A Dog That Died for a Fool Master-Curi
OuS Nenth of u Fox.

A Dog That Died for a Fool Master-Curi
Gus Death of n Fox.
81 haNe never let any of my dogs re-
trieve birds since an experience l had
with a cruel sportsman over on the Della
ware river late one fall" said a Scranton
bird shooter the other day. The mar
owned a splendid pointer that knew a
good deal more about some things than
his master did, and we were both shoot
ing quails " him along the banks of
the river. He was harsh with the dog,
PEELED to do what he knew to be sense
less things, just because he felt certain
that he would he licked like the mischief
if he didn't obey. Each side of the river
was frozen over out to the main channel,
where there wa a strip about Il foot wide
that wasn't covered with ice. One of
the quail that / shot started to fly across
the river and dropped dead on the thin
ice within a few inches of the open chan
mel. My companion ordered the pointer
TO go and get it, and the obedicnt dog
dashed out upon the ice till he got within
a couple of yards or so of the dead bird,
when he halted, for the ice had begun to
crack under him. Then he looked back
at his master and wagged his tail, and
his actions told us as plain as words that
he knew it would be dangerous for him
to proceed any further.
~ begged the man to call the dog back
and let the minks have the quail, but he
wouldn't listen to me. Again he ordered
the dog to fetch the quail in, and again
the dog made an effort to reach it, but
the ice cracked and he turned about,
whined piteously, and in every way that
lie knew how begged his master to call
him back. But the heartless man was
determined to make the dog do as he
said, and he yelled savagely at the
pointer to get the dead bird. Then the
dog sprang forward and seized the quail.
The ice gave way under him, the cur
rem wa swift, and out of sight the poor
thing went, with the bird in his mouth.
That was the last the cruel man ever saw
of his obedicnt dog. He hunted down the
river for a long distance, but it was use
less, for the dog had persisted under the
ice while faithfully performing his duty.
The man wa sorry, then, of course, and
indeed the poor dogs death taught him
a lesson he never forgot"
While hunting cartridges near Round
Swamp, in Clifton township, last fall,
Aaron Bidgood saw a fox s%crambling
around in a mud puddle at a great rate.
He was interested Ill the animals queer
antics, and after he had watched the
lively fox for awhile he came to the con-
clusion that it was catching frogs, or at
least trying to catch them. Its tail was
covered with mud, and it was hopping
and jumping around in mud and water
upon its belly when Bidgood stole up
near enough to see that the sly fellow
was really gobbling up a frog every few
seconds. Bidgood said he didn't care to
modest it just then, and while he was
watching its capers from the midst of a
clump of bushes another fox, apparently
the first ones mate, sprang into the mud
hole from the opposite side and went to
catching the long legged occupants of
the puddle on its own hook. When Bid
good had looked at the cunning frog eat
ers as long as he cared to, he yelled, and
the two mud covered foxes houndered
out of the puddle in a hurry and scam
pered directly toward the clump of
bushes where the hunter was concealed.
They were very much frightened, and
the mud OH their bushy tails and in their
long fur kept their speed down consid-
erably, and when they came along Bid
good killed each of them with a charge
Of bird shot.
A fox that had been chased by a hound
for ten hours lost its life in a peculiar
way in the Lackawanna valley late on a
day in January. Reynard had been pur-
sued until lie was pretty well tuckered
out, and lie ran down into the valley
from the Spring Brook side. He pointed
for the Lackawanna river, but neal the
bank he changed his course, swung
around a large coal breaker, and ran up
the steep incline to the head house at the
top of the breaker. Through the head
house lie dashed, and then ran along a
beam, sprang from the end of it to a
culm pile, and scampered up the refuse
railroad track tothe summit, where culm
was dumped. At. the dump the fox
darted past boy and a mule, and started
to slide down the steep pitch of loose
mine refuse toward the river. The base
of the culm pile has been on fire for sew
eral years, the fire extending up the side
for forty OF fifty feet. When the fox
had begun to slide down he couldn't stop
himself, and he slid right into the mass
Of glowing anthracite and was so badly
burned before he got through it that he
lay down and died close to the river
bank. The hound, inside of half an
hour, Hoped up the incline TO the head
house. 1t nosed around and bayed for a
few seconds, lost the scent, and then
dashed down the slope to a spot where it
had left the level ground. There it got
OH the track again, and when it started
up the plane the second time one of the
men threw chunks of coal at it and it
went yelping out of sight. Scranton
Letter in New York Sun.