The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1893-08-26
TOLD OVER A wATs1DE GRAVE.
The Story of Dog and a Lost Baby ir
the Wilds of Western New Mexico.


the Wnds of Western New Mexico.
LOWER PLAZA, n. NJ, Aug. 1.-The
tourist who visits this region will see.
among other things, as he drives along
the trail from the railroad, a grave with
thick headboard, on which is painted the
one word ssphantom. -
.Tt's only dogs grave" the guide
will explain, ssbut 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 Chapman.
whose wife was the sister of Wisner.
Mrs Chapman, when her brother first
got the dog, had hearty dislike for 1t.
It was a big mongrel with hound blood
predominating- 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. Chap
man had good reason to complain, and she
would have taken the Winchester and
shot the hateful brute on more than 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 a mile away, as If Tor
the express purpose of having g romp
with the little tot OF 8.
However, the dogs manners kept
growing worse, and one day when she
seen it come sneaking around the corner
she started for the gun. but stopped half
way. because she was reminded oy 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 re-
member. So she ran out of the house
quickly without the gun, and called
cloud:
s'Babyl Babyl''
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 panther's track down
in the hollow, near by. To think OF this
was to send her flying toward the hollow,
but no baby OF trace of it was to be
found, although she looked behind every
one Of the scattered pines and cedars
growing there. Then she came running
back to the house, wrlnglng her hands
and calling baby distractedly. She
found the dog standing right beside the
door. but she would not have noticed
him. she was so near wild about the baby,
only for the fact that he stood looking in
tently at her, instead of taking to his
heels with his tail between his legs, rs he
h6d always done when she came toward
him. Even as ii was she paid little atten-
ton to the dog, but ran hifher and Won
about the house and corral and horse
shed. crying and calling the child, IN
til at last she saw the dog come square
before her, and after grave look into
her face, start running around the house
with his nose to the ground. She re-
nembered afterward that he circled
around the house and then disappeared,
but by that time her fears had so over
come her that she fell headlong on the
floor in q dead faint, and there she lay
nobody knows how long.
When she came to her senses the dog
was licking her face, and at once began
to caper about and bark in extraordinary
fashion when she opened her eyes and sat
ND. Then he ran out the door and
stopped and looked back, and direStly
came back and grabbed the skirt of her
dress. which he pulled so hard that he
tore il. 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 up. but she saw the dog was still act
ing in the same unusual fashion she had
noticed before. A little later the sound
Of horses hoofs gladdened her ears, and
with 3 last effort she got up, staggered
out the door, saw her husband as he
jumped from his horse, and, gasping out
the words 'tBaby is iost,' tainted for the
third time
Chapman carried the woman to the
bed, took one look around the room in
order TO assure himself that he had right
" understood what she had said, and
then, grabbing the Winchester, said to
the dog:
ssHi. Phantoml Where's the baby7''
ssWowlD replied the dog, and started
away on lope that keps Dan humping
himself to equal. The trail zigzagged
about for nearly half mile, then crossed
a broken lava bed and ran off down
draw TO the creek valley HaG any other
dog than Phantom been on the trail Dan
would not have believed the child could
have gone that way. but he banked on
Phantom and kept trotting along until at
last thicket was reached just two miles
and hRlf.trom home. Into the thicket
the dog plunged by what was reslly a
sort of tunnel through the brush, and
Chapman had to get down on his hands
and knees 10 follow. Two rods i'll he
came to an opening, and there on the dry
sod lay the baby fast asleep. It was ap- |
parently in the den of some wild ani- |
NAL.
As Dan picked up the child the growl OF
the dog made him look around. Phan- .