The Yellowstone journal. [volume] (Miles City, Mont.) 1893-1901, 1893-09-15
THE STORY OF A DOG.
WHY A SOLITARY WAYSiDE GRAVE Is
MARKED ''PHANTOM."

-
nine-Hc killed the Aoductor and lie,
the Father to n Coyotes Den.
The tourist who visits the region Of
Lower Plaza, n. NJ. will see. anon.
other things, as he drives along the trai
from the railroad a grave with a thicl
~aealboard on which is painted the on,
word. Phantom"
Its only a dogs grave the guide
will 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 a hearty dislike for
1t. 1t was a big mongrel. with hound
blood pre~dominating, and. like all mon
grel hounds, it had an enormous appe-
tite that was never so well satisfied AZ
WITHHOLD stolen from somebody's kitchen.
For many ofenses of this kind Mrs.
Chapman bad good reason to complain.
and she would have taken the winches-
ter and shot the hateful brute on more
than one occasion but for two reasons.
It was a 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 a mile
away as if for the express purpose of hav-
ing a romp with the little tot oi 3.
IIor-aroa >LaA
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 one had not been
about the house for an hour or two, per.
maps more, SO far as she could relne,n.
Der. 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 her Of seeing "A panther,
tracks down in the hollow near hy.
To think Of this was to send her flying
toward ms hollow. but no baby or
trace Of it was TO be found. although
she looked behind every on. Of the seat
tered pines and cedars growing there.
Then she came running back IL the
house, ringing her hand. aud calm.
Baby" distractedlv. She found thu
dog standing right beside the door. h,1t
she would not have noticed him. she
was sc heal wild about the baby. only
for the fact that he stood looking in
tentiy at her instead Of taking to his
heels with his tail between his legs. a
he always done when she came toward
him.
Even as il was she paid little attention
the dog. but ran hither and Won abou,
the house and corral and horse shed.
and calling the child, until al
last she saw the dog come square before
her, and after a grave look into her face
running around tn. house with hi,
nose to the ground. She remembered
that he circled around the
two or three times and then dis
appeared. but by that time her fears had
50 overcome her that she fell headlang
IN the floor in a faint, and there She Law
nobody knows now long.
When she came to her sen>r.. til. dog
licking her face. and al once began |
% caper about and bark in extraordinary
ashton when n opened her ewes and
vat mp. Then he ran out the door and !
and looked back, and directly |
back and grabbed the skirt of her
lress. which he pulled so hard that H.
ore it. Then she picked up aclnb aud
irove the dog ont the houst and When
Ter burst Of anger was over faint.!
gain at the thought of the lost baby.
When she revived this time, she wa too
weak TO get up. but she saw that thslog
vas still acting in the same unusual
she had noticed before. A iittle
alter the sound of horses hoofs gladden.
d her ears, and with a last Effort she
'ot up, staggered out the door, saw her
usband as he jumped from his horse.
gasping out the words that BABY
) lost. tainted for the third time.
Chapman carried the woman TO the
o n look around the room in
to assnre himself that he had
understood what she had said.
then grabbing the winchester said
, the dog:
Hi. Phantom! where's Baby?'
Vow" replied the dog, and started
way on Il lope that kept Dan humping
lmsef to equal. The trail ~zigzagged
bout for nearly half a mile, Their crossed
broken lava bed and ran OF down a
to the creek valley. Had any other
og than Phantom been on the trail Dan
Ould have MOI believed the child corl5
ave gone that way. but he banked on
hantom and kept trotting along until
last Il thicket was reached just two
lies and a half from home. Into the
the dog plunged by what was
ally a sort of tunnel through the brush.
I'd Chapman had to get down on his
.nds and knees to follow. Two rods in
came to al opening. and there on the
sod lay the baby fast asleep 1t was
,parently in the den of some wild ami
al.
Ac nap p,cla7 mn Oh. ,b;l1 &h-.-Y