The herald., 1893-09-25
THE STORY OF A DOG.
WHY A SOLITARY WAYSIDE GRAVE IS
MARKED "PHANToM.o

The tourist who visits the region Of
Lower Plaza N. NJ, will see, among
other things, as he drives along the trail
from the railroad grave with thick
headboard on which is painted the one
word, phantom"
"Its only dogs grave" the guide
win explain, "but reckon he'd more
sense than some men,
Phantom was the property of Bernard
Wisner, a cowboy living near the Datil
mountains some years ago, but he was
buried near the home of Daniel Chap
man, whose wife was the sister of Wis
ner Mrs. Chapman, when her brother
first got the dog, had q hearty dislike for
1t. 1t was q big mongrel, with hound
blood predominating, and, like all mon
grel hounds, it had an enormous appe-
tite that was never SO well satisfied as
with food stolen from somebody Is kitchen.
For many offenses of this kind Mrs.
Chapman had good reason to complain.
and she would have taken the winches-
ter and shot tho hateful brute on more
than one occasion but for two reasons.
1t was a very good hunting dog, and it
would now and then play with the baby
when she wanted to dohousework-
over from her brothers house a mile
4 away as if for the express purpose Of hay
ing romp with the little tot of 8.
However, the dogs manner kept grow.
ing worse, and one day when she saw it
come sneaking around the corral she
started for the gun, but stopped half way
because she was reminded by the sight Of
the dog that the little ono had not been
about the house for an hour or two, per-
haps more, SO far as she could remem-
ber. So she ran out of the house quickly
without the gun and called aloud:
"Babyl Babyl'
Then she listened and grew faint, for
she heard no reply, and fainter still
when she remembered that her husband
had told her of seeing panther's
tracks down in the hollow near by.
To think of this was to send her flying
toward the hollow, but no baby or
trace of it was to be found, although
she looked behind every one of the scat
tered pines and cedars growing there.
Then she game running back to the
house, ringing her hands and calling
Baby" distractedly. She found the
dog standing right beside the door, but
she would not have noticed him, she
was so near wild about the baby, only
for the fact that he stood looking in
tentlv at her instead Of taking to his
heels with his tail between his legs, as
he always done when she came toward
him.
Even as it was she paid little attention
to the dog, but ran hither and yon about
the house and corral and horse shed,
crying and calling the child, until at
last she saw the dog come square before
her, and after grave look into her face
start running around the house with his
nose to the ground She remembered
afterward that he circled around the
house two or three times and then dis
appeared, but by that time her fears had
80 overcome her that she fell headlong
on the floor in faint, and there she lay
nobody knows how long.
When she came to her senses, the dog
was licking her face, and at once began
to caper about and bark in extraordinary
fashion when she opened her eyes and |
sat up. Then he ran out the door and |
stopped and looked back, and directly |
came back and grabbed tho skirt of her
dress, which he pulled so hard that he
tore it. Then she picked up club and
drove the dog out the house, and when
her burst OF anger was over tainted
again at tine thought of the lost baby
When she revived this time, she was too
weak to get up, but she saw that the dog
was still acting in the same unusual
fashion she had noticed before. A little
later the sound of horses hoofs gladden.
ed her ears, and with last effort she
got up, staggered out the door, saw her
husband as he jumped from his horse,
and, gasping out the words that "Baby
is lost, " tainted for the third time.
Chapman carried the woman to the
bed, took one look around the room in
order to assure himself that. he had
rightly understood what she had said,
and then grabbing the winchester said
to the dog:
Ell, Phantom! where's Baby?"
"Woww replied the dog, and started
away on a lope that kept Dan humping
himself to equal. The trail zigzagged
about for nearly half mile, then crossed
a broken lava bed and ran off down a
draw to the creek valley. Had any other
dog than Phantom been ON the trail Dan
would have not believed the child could
have gone that way, but he banked on
Phantom and kept trotting along until
at last a thicket was reached Just two
miles and a half from home. Into the
thicket the dog plunged by what was
really sortof tunnel through the brush,
and Chapman had to get down on his
hands and knees to follow Two rodsi in
he came to an opening, and there ON the
dry sod lay the baby fast asleep. 1t was
in the den of some wild ami
NAL
AS Dan picked up the child the grow
IF the dog made him look around.
Phantom was standing over the dead
body Of a recently killed coyote.
Phantom died Of old age last spring,
md was buried with many tears neai
'he public highway, where all who pass
;an see it, 1t was only dog that was
iurie6 there, We iilaH Us the cewbevs
Aay, II reckcn mSae sessso taaa
lorne men. eia New Nork &un
A'erv Far4 ts.S Nxsfcisr