The Lamar register., 1893-11-11
BY A wAYsIDE GRAVE.
THE STORY OF a DOG AND A
BABY THAT WAS Lust.
Phantom Had More sense Than Most
Mea-He Was Honorcd With "a Grav'
by ;he Public Highway where All
Might See It.

board, on which is painted the one
word Phantom says the New York
Suns New Mexican letter.
..It's only dogs grave" the
guide will explain, "but l reckon
he'd more sense than some men.
Phantom was the property of Ber-
nard Wisner. cowboy living near
the Dantil mountains some years ago,
but he was buried near the home OF
Daniel Chapman. whose wife was the
sister Of Wisner. Mrs. Chapman,
when her brother first got the dog.
had hearty dislike for it II was
big mongrel with hound blood pro-
dominating. and like all mongrel
hounds it had an enormous appetite
that was never so well satisfied as
with food stolen from somebody's
kitchen. For many offenses OF this
kind Mrs Chapman had good reason
to complain. and she would have
taken the Winchester and shot the
hateful brute on more than one Oc-
casion but for two reasons l; was g
very good hunting dog. and It would
now and then play with the baby
when she wanted TO do housework-
come over from her brothers house
mile away as II for the express
purpose of having romp with the
little tot OF three
However. the dogs manners kept
growing worse. and one day when
It come sneaking around the cor
raj she started for the gun. but
stopped halfway because she was re-
minded by the sight OF the dog that
the little one had not been about the
house for an hour or two. perhaps
more, so far as she could remember
So she ran out OF the house quickly
without the 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
husband had told OF seeing panther's
track down IN the hollow. near by.
To think OF this was 10 send her dy-
ing toward the hollow. but no baby
or trace of it was to be found. al
though she looked behind every one
OF the scattered pines and ccdars
growing there Then she came run
ming back to the house. wrineiny
trartedly. She found the dog stani-
ing right beside the door. but she
wo-ld not have noticed him. she was
SO II ar wild about the baby. only for
the fact that he stood looking in
tea'ly at he-. instead OF taking to
his heels with his tail between his
leg, as he had always done when she
cbnc toward him Even as IL was
she paid little attention to the dog,
but ran hither ana yon about the
house and corral and horse shed.
crying and calling the child. until az
last she saw the dog come square be-
fore her. and. after grave look into
her face. start running around tho
house with mis- nose TO the ground.
She remembered afterward that he
circ.ed around the house two or
three times and then disappeared.
but BY that time she fell headlong
on the floor in a faint. and there she
lay nobody knows how long.
When she came to her senses the
dog was licking her face. and at orce
began to caper about and bark in eN-
I traordinary fashion wbnn she opened
her eyes and sat up. Then he ran
out the door and stopped and looked
back, and directly came back and
grabbed the skirt OF her dress. which
he pulled so hard that he tore it
Then she picked up club and drove
the dog out OF the house, and when
her burst OF anger was over tainted
again at the thought OF the lost baby.
When she revived this time she was
too weak to get dp. but she saw the
dog was still acting in the same un-
usual fashion she noticed before A
little later the sound of horses hoofs
gladdened 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 "Haby is lost. V tainted for
the third time
Chapman carried the woman to the
sed, took one look around the room
in order to assure himself that he
had rightly understood what she had
said. and then grabbing the Win
chester said to the dog:
Iii, Phantom. where's baby?"
Wow" replied the dog and
started away on lope that KEEP: Dan
humping himself oequaL The trail
zigza eyed about for nearly half mile
then crossed a broken lava bed and
ran on down draw to the creek val
ley; had any other dog than Phan-
tom been on ths trail Dan would not