Kansas agitator. [volume] (Garnett, Kan.) 1890-1905, 1890-08-25
DOGS G., THERE TO DIE.
Scores of Ailing CANNES Seem Attracted
to an Old House.

to an Old House.
The mystery surrounding the conduct
of the scores of dogs that have crawled
under the caves of houses Nos. and
on City Hall avenue is still the absorb
ing topic around the new city hall.
All efforts to fathom the mysterious
attractions have been unavailing. The
fact remains, however. that under these
two houses scores Of dogs have crawled
and died. Not ordinary dogs, but sick
dogs; dogs that were on the verge OF
death. Twenty-six carcasses have been
removed from beneath the old houses al
ready, including dogs of all degrees,
from the beautiful and intelligent set
ter to the measly little terrier who yelped
his farewell to earth in the presence of
scores of his dead and better kind
Whence come these dogs? Why do
they go there to die in such large num-
bers, and why do they select this par
ticular spot? These are the questions of
interest to the number of visitors who
come to see them. The strange part of
the story is that dogs have been recOg-
nized that came to the place from some
far distant part of the city, ostensibly
for the purpose of dying, as they were
seen to stagger through the yard, dis
appear and be seen no more until their
moldering remains were pulled out
from under the house.
From time to time complaints have
been made at the health Office Of the
stencil arising from the place, and AL
pers, the dead dog man, has been mott
fed and requested to remove them. On
one occasion he removed twelve in one
batch. Newfoundlands, shepherd dogs,
bulldogs, ours and even one or two
fancy strains of dogs were discovered to
have come to this strangely selected spot
to foregather with their kin. After this
Alpers refused to proceed further in the
matter, declaring that he did not have
to remove the dogs dying upon private
premises, and SO the accumulation has
gone on until the condition is intolerable.
A search was instituted by DR.. Furlong,
of the health Office, and it was discovered
that once more the place was filed with
dogs newly dead.
The search resulted in the announce
ment that the number of dogs that had
died under those walls could not be as
certained until the floors were taken up.
A feature that seems almost supernat
ural is the intelligence that character
lies the dogs death. Every new animal
as he comes to the place to die crawls
back as far as he can get beneath the
house and gets close against the last dog
that died, as if to make room for the
next that comes; a fact that Super
visor Barry pronounced the most touch
ingly pathetic unselfshness he had ever
known.
The scores of dogs that have died have
come without noise, as testified by the
lady of the house, and died without
noise. They come almost at the moment
of DEATH crawl beneath the house and
join the majority without whimper.
What the mysterious attraction is is
something beyond human knowledge
and may never be fathomed. No one
seems to dare to advance theory on
the eerie subject, and yet every one was
willing to admit that there really seemed
to be an understanding or death compact
between the dogs, but how, when or
where made, if at all, seemed to be sim
ply controversion of all of natures
known laws.-San Francisco Examiner