The weekly intelligencer. [volume] (Lexington, Mo.) 1891-1901, 1894-11-10
EARS EVEN BETWEEN THEM,
but Yaiier Had to he Shot because He Had
Been Licked Twice by Fox.


Been Licked Twice by n Fox.
Yaller. n mongrel cur belonging to
Eliphalet ID. Koon. of Kinkel Root
Ridge. came home the other morning
with the right,ear of a fox between his
teeth. The dog had been gone all
night. and the first thing he did when
he limped into the kitchen was to coax
Mrs. koon to take the ear from his
mouth. His jaws and nose were bleed
ing, there were several wounds on his
paws, neck and head, and it was ev-
ident that Yaller and Reynard had
fought hard and long before the dog
had succeeded in biting off the fox's
ear. Mr.. Koon was so angry at Yaller
for having let a fox get the best of him
that he took down his rifle to kill
him, but Mrs. Koon persuaded him not
to shoot the poor old fellow, and she
was so sorry for Yaller that for three
days she did the churning herself.
Meantime the dog lay around the
house and nursed his wounds in ST.
lence. On the fourth day Yaller was
well enough to churn, and he volun-
teered to do SO when he saw that his
mistress had got everything ready.
When he went out to do the chores
before sunrise the next morning Mr..
Koon heard a fox barking on the crest
of,a ride forty or fifty rods to the east
of the house. Yaller heard il, too, and
was himself again in an instant He
pricked up his ears, stole down the
road close TO the fence, and disappeared
in strip of woodland that extended
up to the ridge. After Yaller had gone
ont of sight in the timber the fox con-
tinued to bark, as il challenging the
dog to come up there and get licked.
dog crept from the woods at the top of
the ridge snd stealthily made his way
toward noisy Reynard between the
stumps. In a moment the fox spied
the dog. Int he didn't run OF. On the
contrary he started straight for the
dog at lively pace, meeting him moro
than half way. They clinched, and for
two or three minutes they had q nip
and-tuck tussle in the grass and among
the stones that was gamey in the ex-
treme. Mr. Koon soon became con-
vinced that IL was no easy task for his
dog to lick Reynard, 20 he got his rifle
and stole along the edge of the woods,
thinking he might be able to get . shot
at the fox the moment the animals sep
arated.
II was tit for tat between the two
for several minutes more, when the
dog began to howl terribly and to try
TO break loose from the fox. Reynard
kept his hold and Yaller gave up the
fight and went yelping down the hill
dragging the fox by his side. The lat
ter was hanging on with all his might,
the greater weight of the dog taking
him along down the slope in spite Of
an he could do.
Finally the combatants broke apart,
the dog crying piteously as he made
for the house, while the fox, instead of
giving chase, trotted silently up the
hill. Mr.. koon blazed away then and
the fox ran few PAGES and dropped
dead.
When Mr.. Koon picked the fox up by
the tail he noticed that its right ear
was gone. There was raw stump,
showing that the ear had recently
been amputated, and it occurred to
him that the dead animal was the
same fox that Yaller had tackled five
nights before. and whose right ear the
dog had brought to the house. On
examining the fox's teeth Mr.. Koon
was amazed, for between the set jaws
there was Yallers right ear, which the
fox had chewed OF at the root while
the dog was endeavOring to get away.
.Reynard had had his revenge on the
dog.
On reaching the house Mr.. Koon
found Yaller groaning behisd the stove
as IL half dead. His right ear was ab-
sent and the wound was bleeding pro-
fusely. This time Mrs. Koon pleaded
in vain for the life of Ysller. Mr.,
Koon put bullet into the poor old
fellows head at once. and the next
day he bought new dog.-N. Y. Sun.