The Caucasian. (Clinton, N.C.) 188?-1913, 1894-03-01

/ gradually vanished like setting sun
and great plague Of itch came
upon all the dogs and from tht
rising Of the sun until the goipe
3o~u thereof, and until his rising
agaiI, the dogs scratched and scratch.
led and abradcd themselves against
aalIs and posts, aud h wled and
owhed and barkeI and barked about
t5e "Gyod old times" when all dog.
we're healthy and ustrous Of coat.
And the dogs grew thin and lank
f. and NANCY looking. Their eyes
crew Iu,trrloss, and their ribs could
be- counted BY the naked eve at quite
distance. rh~ir ears hung down
their spirit departed ; and only when
some specially yrnomous flea gave a
dog a specially venomous nip did h.
awake from hs Iisrie-sness with d
quick explosive yeip he would sud
de"Iy Hop on the ground and cause
ia > hind leg TO vIbrate with tn,
rapldjly of Il 81 ddeuly re ga sd spring
But as for the hcas they pro,pered
lu an inverse ratio to the dogs. All
the qualities Of the dogs seemed to
be transferred to them. As the dog
grew thin the tlcas grew fat and
plump. As the dogs grew listless
the tIeas grew lively. As a total ag-
gregate OF dog and flea th-re seemed
To tA Loo .f ,.,lp,,.. e, h.,
one lost the other seemed to gain
TIE average Of blood, vitality and
energy seemed about aS before and
to the outside spectator, 1t made no
difference but it was another mat
ter entirely with the constituent
parts; for the only part Of this socie-
ty that was abumdautIy satisfied was
the Ileas, and the only part that was
not at all satisfied was the dogs.
And it came to pass that the dogs
became possessed, seemingly, of Il
desire to work harder. Everyone
now frenziedIy tore around, scratch.
ing in CUTTERS for any kind of dirty
eatables, nosing in garbage barrels
and keeping up all incessant trot IN
search Of something to eat. More
over they seemed to become possessed
Of the devil. Their tempers went
sour, and they seemed to be perpetu-
ally on the hunt for d fight. let
but one dog be found n. unching a
bone, and instantly half a dozen
others, with growls, would rush upon
him and compel him to let 90, only
TO snarl, and rage and battle for it
amongst themselves from which
conflict several would emerge bleed
ing, torn and ragged. And the more
they fought and squa5bled for bones
and scraps, the scarcer the bones and
scraps seemed to grow. The dogs
were always hungry, and in spite of
their utmost efforts many fell by the
wayside and died of starvation; and
the wall of the hungry ones nightly
went up to heaven.
Why was all this? Nobody SEEM
ed to know, save few old fogy dogs
who remembered the good time of
the reign of the departed chieftain,
Bull McMastltf. THEY said that
there were as many bones and scraps
III the community as ever there We're;
yea, that there were more than ten
times aS many as in McMaStiff's 5
reign. rHEY said that the real
reason was that every dog had be-
come 50 thickly settled with heas,
that, DO matter how hard and how
many hours d day he hunted for
food, he could never get enough to
nOurish himself, because the feas he
carried ATE HIM Up and So continu-
ally sucked his blood, that they kept
ann always thin and on the very
edge Of starvation. Said they: "Be-
hold the feas they toll not, neither
do they spin, neither do they hunt
after bones, nor do any manner of
work on the Sabbath, nor any other
day, for living; and yet, verify, not
Il dog in all his plumpness in the
good old times, was half 50 plump as
one of these. Behold how easy be
the times these suckers have; the
body which maintains them carries
them around, and is, in all respects,
their most humble aud obedient
servant"
But the bare ribbed, hungry and
fea-ridden mob Of dogs derided these
wise old stagers and mockingly cried
out to them, 'Go up, We bald heads ;
what do ye know about these things"
Shut up your jawn' "Pull down
your vest. !" "Shoot them teeth -
and other such ribald remarks.
Therefore the wise old dogs did shut
mp, and did no more try the impos-
slble job of teaching fools. And in
d few more years they drew up their
feet and gave up the ghost; and the
community had rest from their I'M
welcome Prophesying.
But THE MIsERIES OF THE DOGS
DID NOT ABATE WITH THE DEATH OF
THOSE WHO TOLD THEM WHAT THE
MATTER WAS. Every day the police
dogs reported that they had discov,
cred another one either dying or dead
of starvation; and then the dogs ran
together and called a confab, which
they named an ''inquest." And the
inquest" was "a solemn ceremony
where a dozen. or more dogs. each
blind in one eye, headed by another
dog called "Coroner"-also hlinC
in one eye and weak in the other
looked the dead dog all over and ther
said: Natural causes - Vista
ton of God; = "Anamia > "Atro
ply y 'Cardialgia :" "NACUITY OF
THE ALIMENTARY CANAL, and theI
ordered somebody to bury him in th
sacred place of dogs called the "Fielt
Of the Potter