The Progress., 1893-11-11
BY A WAYSLDE GRAVE.
THE STORY OF A DOG AND a
BABY THAT WAS LOST.
Phantom Had More Sense Than Most
Men-He Was Honorcd with Grave
by the Public Highway where All
Might See IL.

drives along the trail from the rall-
road, a grave with Il thick head
board, on which is painted the one
word phantom. says the New York
Suns New Mexican letter.
"It's only a dogs grave" the
guide will explain. "but | reckon
he'd more sense than some men.
Phantom was the property of Bcr-
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 Wisncr Mrs. Chapman,
when her brother first got the dog,
had hearty dislike for it. II was a
big mongrel with hound blood pre-
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 oifenscs of this
kind Mrs Chapman had good reason
to complain. and she would have
taken the Winchester and shot the
hateful brute on mole than one oc-
casion but for two reasons. 1t was a
very good hunting dog, and it would
now and then play with the baby
when she wanted to do hOuscwork-
come over from her brothers bouso
a mile away as if for the express
purpose of having a 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 a panther's
track down In the hollow, near by.
To think of this was to send her fly-
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 ala cedars
growing there. Then she came run
ming back to the house, wriaging
her hands and calling "baby" dis
tractedly. She found the dog stand
ing right beside the door, but she
would not have noticed him. she was
so near wild about the baby, only for
he fact that he stood looking in
,ently at her. instead of taking to
MS heels with his tail between his
egs. as he had always done when she
came toward him. Even as it was
she paid little attention to the dog,
Dut ran hither and yon about the
house and corral and horse she'd.
,rying and calling the child, until at
asst she saw the dog come square be-
ore her, and, after a grave look into
her face, start running around the
house with mis- nose to the ground.
She remembered afterward that he
,ircled around the house two or
,hree times and then disappeared,
put by that time she fell headlong
)n the floor in faint, and there she
ay nobody knows how long.
When she came to her senses the
log was licking her face, and at once
began to caper about and bark in ex-
,raordinary fashion when she opened
her eyes and sat up. Then he ran
'ut the door and stopped and looked
back, and directly came back and
grabbed the skirt of her dress, which
lie pulled so hard that he tore it.
Then she picked up club and drove
he dog out of the house, and when
Ter burst OF anger was over tainted
again at the thought of the lost baby.
When she revived this time she was
90 weak to get up, but she saw the
log was still acting in the same un-
usual fashion she noticed before. A
little later the sound of horses hoofs
J yladdened her ears. and with a last
'ffort she got up, staggered out the
loor. saw her husband as he Jumped
rom his horse. and. gasping out the
words that "Raby is lost" tainted for
the third time.
Chapman carried the woman to the
ped, took one look around the room
n order to assure hi4self that he
lad rightly understood what she had
'aid. and then grabbing the Win
chester said to the dog:
"Hi, Phantom! where's baby?"
wow" replied the dog and
started away on lope that kept Dan
humping himself to equa. The trail
,igzagged about for neag,y half a mile
hen crossed broken lsva bed and
'an on down a draw tc .he creek val
ey; had any other dog than Phan-
,om been on the trail I}an would not
nave believed the child could have
gone that way, but he banked on
Phantom, and kept trOtting along un-
III at last thicket Is reached Just
,wo miles and half from home. In
20 the thicket the dog plunged by
what was really a sort of tunnel
n rom m n tho h-,,sb and Cbonpooo ba1