The Yellowstone journal. [volume] (Miles City, Mont.) 1893-1901, 1893-12-22
DOGS o USE In WAR
HOW THEY ARE TRAINED IN A LIT
TIE TOWN IN AUSTRIA.

Marvelous-How They Hunt Out and Sue.
cor the Wounded and Lost-Scenting an
Enemy When Five Miles Away.
Some so miles west of Vienna the lit
tie market town of Wells nestles in the
foothills of the Austrian Alps, which
here rise in bold cliffs from the banks of
the Tram.
The forests of the neighborhood are
too open to harbor much game, but a
stranger stopping at the summer hotel
of the little town might easily be led to
believe that the citizens must be the
most indefatigable hunters of the Aus
tro-Hungarian empire. From morning
till night. and sometimes till long after
dark, he may near the echo of shots and
the barking and bowling of dogs ap
preaching the town or dying away in
the distant hills. aud occasionally an
swered from flr and near. as if all the
sportsmen of the northern Alps had met
in convention.
For this Is one of the stations where
kriegshunde-war dogs-are trained.
The plan Of training logs for military
purposes was first adop ed by the French
SoAA i-Nii~ AL -AA-ltIS. blL HAS Slilst bttll
tried with great success III Prussia, Italy
and especially in Austria, where four
footed messengers have for many wears
been taught to carry letters to the snow
bound villages of the Alpine highlands.
The shaggy collies rIsed for that purpose
make the best VIZ dogs and can be
trained to race III Il bee line to the next
military post and .Innounc their arrival
by a peculiar bark that is at once recog-
nized and answered by the shout of a
sentry.
They will also range a long chain of
hills in quest Of wounded soldiers. and
either dash back to report their discov-
cries or stand guard at the side of the
cripple till an ambulance party comes
hear enough to be sisnaled by "A long
drawn howl.
Trainers send out three or four of their
shaggy pupils at once and ascertain their
proficiency by all sorts of ingeniouste tests.
Soldiers instructed TO act the part If
helpless crlppies viii hide in thiciset, ~
caverns and keep still I'll tae dog trles
at their sleeves, when they will IT uf
and reward his -a@acis@ with q Ii Il. d
sausage.
They then tryt 10 ri,e. but pcctc.li tnja
too weak Ia walk or even t. s.sou,. a.,
ask the dog IL call fgra ista.e4. fiji
is near, Collie viii 81 ~ a ioHti howl. r.
peated at shorter and shorter interval
till the signal l. Answered from fAe ~
ley below. II his appeals should remain
unheeded, he will mount the npxt r5rI.
and look about Is if to impress the lay ri
the land Oh MS mind. and then dash al.
10 summon helptr0m headquarters.
Should two cripples intimate their
need Of aid 1T the same time. Collie viii
guide the Fe~eaiHs party to the hitinu
place Of the ole farthest away. and helm
thea 10 pick MP or somehow assist the
the other man III their way home.
Messenger dogs carry letters in IA small
bag wrapped around their collar and will
permit only the proper officials to touch
that collar. Anoncommissionad officer.
displaying the insignia of his rank. mav
venture h remove the bag, but the dog
will follow HIm and see to it that ne Get,
him III answer.
Private soldiers are stood Off with a
menacing @r9wl. Persons wearing the
uniform Of the enemy cannot stop the
messenger with anything brt an ex-
t~ren-ely we'll aimed shot. Dogs racing
along the battle front will dodge bullets
by running zl@zag and develop II mar
Vicious talent for taking advantage of
every cover, running through the high
est grass OF along the safe side of rocks !
and fallen trees.
Picket post dogs are selected from a
different breed. The half shepherd, half
wolf dogs that carry letters and hunt up
cripples are not entirely devoid of scent
and can find their way back home in a
manner not wholly explicable on The
theory Of keen eyesieht. But for eff
cheney III the role of sentries they Yield
the palm to "A species of deerhounds that
do their best work after dark.
On picket duty "a we'll trained sentinel
of that breed will scent the approach Of
a troop Of cavalry before a man. with his
ear on the ground, can hear the tram
ping Of the horses. The dog sentry will
announce his discovery in a more dis
Greet way than the Scotch widow who
screamed through the citadel of Luck
when her inner ear heard the ap-
preaching bagpipe of the McGresors
on seeming danger will step III
close to his uniformed companion, and
a pause Of silence and keen atten-
ton will his suspicion by low
getting more frequent rather
than louder, as the cause for alarm be
comes more u~nmistakable.
The best dogs Of that breedhave "chal-
cavalry from a distance of three
TO five miles, according to the direction
Of the wind. and infantry from nearly
two miles. They can be trained to an
nounce the approach of a known friend
in a quite different way-yiz, by leaping
TO and fro or c%rouching down and jump
up by turns, but without the warn
ing growl of the danger signaL.-F. L.
Oswald in Youths Companion.