, 1892-02-25
;ERswElL GOT HIS DOG.
IL Was Lost; He Advertised aud Found
A Perfect Bench Show.

Everybody in Cheyenne knows Charley
Erswell. the telegraph operator. One of
Charley's hobbies is the love of thorough
bred dogs, and consequently he possesses
some half dozen Irish water spaniels and
other noted species of the canine race.
Doubtless many OF the innocent fellows
that Charley has mortified with his thou
sand and one practical Jokes, when he
hears Of the way hat gentleman was
done up" in this case. will indulge in a
continued little chuckle at Cbarlev's ex-
psnse.
The way it happened was this: Carley's
favorite puppy had disappeared. and his
experience of the world and also of THE
LEADERS, circulation induced him to put
the following innocent and simple adver-
tisement in its columns Tuesday morn
ing:
LosT-Strayed or stolen. an Irish
water spaniel puppy, 5 months old. seal
brown, tail partially bare. A suitale re.
ward for his return to G. s. Erswell.
Charley comes on as the last night
operator at the Western Union Office,
and consequently holds his caucuses with
old man Morpheus in the day time.
About 8 O'Clock Wednesday morning
Charley went home. and having forgotten
all about the advertisement in The
LEADER was surprised to be informed by
Mrs. Erswell that more thar twenty-five
boys had been there with puppies claim
ing they we're his. Meanwhile Charley's
really lost puppy had been returned and
was costly housed in his own little domi-
Gle. Erswell felt rather sleepy and went
to bed almost as soon as he reached
home. He had not much more than
rived from the country, but coming from
different directions, each claiming to be
the hero who had captured the lost"
dog. Mrs. Erswell could not satisfy them
aud had to call Charley. Charley told
them his dog had rsappeared, but even
this did not satisfy one of them for in a
very persistent and aggressive manner he
said: Il still b'leeve that this is yoah
dorg. fer don't yer see it has a real bare
taill' The other boy could not bear to
see The first one get ahead of him in that
way so he chimed in, this purp," affec-
~tionately hugging the dog up to his
breast, lis de brownest purp of de twol''
Erswell had not more than succeeded
in turning the small boys out, and finished
congratulatiug himself upon that fact,
when two old women, an old man and a
a negro girl appeared at 1.-THE door. some of
them leading and others carrying loads of
dog flesh; every mothers's son of them.
however. had a dog of some sort, and
could have sworn that it was Uharley's
lost water spaniel. Erswell was now
frantic. He mounted a box upon his
front porch and explained that he had
found his dog. Then he started to 60 in
side, but the crowd caught on to his pur-
pose aud intimated that any such move
ment by him would be the greatest mis-
take of his life. They impressed Charley
that they meant what they said by the
shaking of clubs, walls and hlsses, while
the score of of dogs broke loose and en-
gagged IN a free for all fight. In angry
disgust Erswell slipped put the back way
and sneaked down town. A few hours
later when he returned aud found the
coast clear he painted q sign in big fam
ing letters something like the following,
and placed 1t on his front tence: