Rock Island daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1886-1893, 1893-01-27
VICTORY OF A WILD DOG.
Attacked by Wolves re Gives Desp rate
Battle and Finally Wins.

Several miles below Waco the Brazos
river makes bend like that in the
James river across which Con. Butler
made the Dutch Gap canal. The ISL
and within this bend is fertile, and is
planted yearly in cotton, producing a
bale to the acre easily.
A portion of it. nearest the river, is
densely grown with barberry, yipan
and cottonwood, forming a chaparral
only passable by paths made, perhaps,
by Indians, and kept open by cattle
going to water and boys who drive
them. Among the animals which in
habit the chaparral are wild dogs
pariahs. or descendants of pariahs.
The theory of the planters is that the
ancestry of this vast kennel of danger
Gus and yelping ours were unsociable,
thievish and domestic ours driven
away from Waco early in its history,
says Waco correspondent OF the St.
Louis Globe-Dsmocrdt. They are es-
sentially wild beasts now-Gerce, cow
ardly, carniverous, hunting in packs
and fighting among themselves over
the quarry their joint efforts Sc
cure. They are ruder toward each
other than wolves, and with the wolves
they are always at war.
Recently calf, the property of Sen
ator Coke, became engulfed in bed
of silt left by the rivers subsistence
after flood. The wild dogs gathered,
and the cow-mother met them. She
made gallant fight to protect her off
spring, but the mongrels pulled her
down and were soon rending both her
flesh and that of the calf snarling and
biting each other over the bloody ban
quet. Attracted by the smell of blood
and the yelping and growing, pack
of wolves emerged from the thicket
and Joined, or attempted to join in the
feast. The dogs abandoned their
meal, ceased their family strife and
made common cause against n COM
mon enemy. 1t was wild and re-
lentless fight. All over the sand, or in
the sticky mud, or rolling over and
over in the shadows, dogs and wolves,
locked together in quenchless hate,
tore each others throats, bit, wallow-
ed and howled; while some, tumbling
together into deep water, floated down
the river, fighting as they went. Dogs
slew wolves and wolves slew dogs.
Thus the war went on, until many of
the com batants were dead or hors de
combat.
The correspondent of the Globe
Democrat was rowing down the river,
and rested on his oars to witness the
novel and terrific battle. At length
only one pair continued the fight. One
of these was huge shaggy cur and
his antagonist gray wolf, superior to
his fellows in strength and size. These
champions were nearly evenly
matched. They fought by snap
ping. wolf fashion. part of the time.
Then they closed and wrestled for
throat-hold. They foiled each other
with the skill of trained fighters, ris-
ing erect. locking arms. parrving and
thrusting with their faBged muzzles
until, after fully an hour had been
spent and both were cut and torn over
their entire bodies, the dog triumphed.
Getting his teeth in the neck of the
wolf. he closed his eyes. and when he
relaxed his bold the wolf was dead.
When certain that his antagonist
was done for, and to make doubly sure,
the dog dragged the body of the wolf
ten feet over the Shiny margin and ut
tered Il howl of triumph which brought
TO life several of his companions
which had seemed 20 be dead. Some
females came also from the timber,
and the victor limped to the calf, i'm
ishcd- along with the remnant of the
pack-his interrupted meal. and after
drinking deeply from the river took
his way back, closely attended by two
females, perhaps his wives.
The reporter could have killed the
hraN-n lnrr hut ,vpt,11 not do II
bullet directed against the old vet
eran when his battle was won would
have seemed like murder.