The comet. (Johnson City, Tenn.) 1884-1916, 1893-09-07
PATHETIC STORY OF A DOG AND A
LOST BABY.
The Faithful Brute Died Of Old Age
aud Was Buried With Many Tears.

S'NS y ~ ASSNhU 'NVNSi3 wiz oSV' "iipbS
vother things, as he drives along the
trail from the railroad, a grave with a
thick head.board, on which is painted
the word, phantom"
Its only a dogs grave" the guide
will explain, "but reck on 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 Chapman, whose wife vas the
sister OF Wisner Mrs. Chapman, when
her brother first got the dog, had
hearty dislike for it. 1t was a big
mongrel with hound blood predomin-
ating, and like all mon2reI hounds it
had an enormous appetite that was
never so we'll satisfied as with food
stolen from somebody's kitchen. For
many offenses OF this kind Mrs, Chap
man had good reasons to complain,
and she would have taken the Win
chester and shot the brute on more
chan one occasion but for two reasons.
1t was very good hunting dog, and
1t would now and then play with the
baby when she wanted to do housework
come over from her brothers house
q mile away as if for the express pur
pose Of having romp with the little
tot ofc.
However, the dogs manners kept
growing worse, and one day when she
saw it come sneaking around the cor
raj she started for the gun, but STOP
ped half way because she was remind
ed by the sight OF the dog that the
little one had not been about the house
Tor an hour or two, perhaps more, so
far as she could remember. She ran
out Of the house quickly without the
y gun and called aloud:
"Baby Baby
Then she listened and grew faint,
for she heard no reply, and fainter
still when she remembered that her
h"-hand told of seeing panther's
srtrk down in the hollow. near by. To
isit ; II this was to send her flying to-
"A w~'l the hollow, but no baby or trace
ol 1t Was to be found, although she
looked behind every one of the scat
tered pines and cedars growing there.
Then she came running back to the
house wringing her hands and calling
"Baby" distractedlv. She found the
dog standing right beside the door,
but she would not have noticed him,
she was SO near wild about the baby,
leonly for the fact that he stood looking
Pint 'Dty at her, instead OF taking to
R1it heels with his tail between his legs
pas he had always done when she
sg9a.ee toward him. Even as it was she
IDaS little attention to the dog, but
raE 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
LATTER grave look into her face, started
drumming aronud the house two Or
three times and then disappeared. but
by that time her fears had so overcome
her that she fell headlong on the floor
\ in faint, and there she lay nobody
4 knows how long.
When she came to her senses the
dog was licking her face and at once
began to caper about and break in ex
4 traordinary fashion when she opened
\ her eyes and sat up. Then he ran out
Ethe door and stopped and looked back
\ land directly came back and grabbed
1.-THE skirt OF her dress, which he pulled
ayso hard that he tore it. Then she pick
ed up club and drove the dog out O
the house, and when her burst O
anger was over tainted again at The
thought of the lost baby. When sh,
revived this time she was too weak t
Fget up, but she saw the dog was still
y lacting the same unusual fashion sh'
had noticed before A little later tn,
sound Of horses hoofs gladdened he
ears, and with last effort she got up
staggered out the door, saw her hus
band as he jumped from his horse