The Middleburgh post. [volume] (Middleburgh, Snyder Co., Pa.) 1883-1916, 1894-08-09

y
corps. "When they are grown they're
about the size OF shepherd dog, and
look as il they were cross between n
wolf and fox. They are of light
yellow color, and slouch along as il
they suspected every one they met OF
having tin can snd intentions Of
fastening it to their tails. Tie queer
est thing about the Costa Rica dogs is
that il they live to be thousand years
old they can't bark unless they are
taught while they are puppies.
"rhey have to teach those dogs
to bark down there just as some ca
nary birds have to he taught to sing.
When the pups are a couple of weeks
old the Indians-every person down
there is an Indian, 80 called-take
them and either put them with dog
that has learned to bark, 80 that they
can hear him and initiate him by de-
grees, or bark the lessons % tho pup
pies themselves. The latter is the
surest and most satisfactory way to
teach Costa Rica dog TO bark, be.
cause n dog down there that has mas
tered the voice that il natural to dogs
elsewoer may not take 1t into his
heaSheir ,rk once in six months, and
If puppy ,esn't receive any lessons
in voice culture before he Is six
months old he will be mute all his life.
So the Indians usually make sure that
their dogs shall bark, By giving the
puppies lessons themselves.
"rhc funny thing about teaching
these young dogs that they have a
voice is that their instructors can teach
them to bark in any tone. The eager
puppy will initiate ths sound his In
dian teacher emits, no matter whether
it is deep bass, a mellow baritone, a
! plaintive falsetto or ticndish shrek
| or yell in no tone at all.
$50 you can well imagine that n
family of Costa Rican dogs trained to
sing after the varied methods that the
/ whims or inclinations of their teachers
dictate, may be able to give a concert
on n moonlight which would startlo a
stranger when he first heard it.
"But these dogs are very nee sssary
things to the Indians, the most OF
WuOH uuu w
incomes by hunting the iagusr aud the
puma. They don't have any bear
down there; and felt real lonesome
until had my first iaguar hunt, and
after I had triedlJ j ? BIS puma /
felt very much at hom& The iaguar
is a sort of tiger, and the puma is a
genuine panther.
"You might take oil the bears there
are in my native Pennsylvania woods
and there are good many OF them
there yet, | can tell you-snd boil
their ugliness and cusseducss down
into ono strapping, ripping, roaring
/ bear, and that bear would be as hum.
bic and gentle as lamb cJmpered
with an ordinary Costa Rlca iayuar or
/ puma, with only its own share OF Gus.
sedness to help it along.
1.-The Costa Rican Indians never
use guns in hunting the dangerous
and destructive iaguar and puma, and
that is because their ancestors didn't
hunt the game with guns. The iagulr
or puma hunter is called n tigrero,
and II the iaguar is the object Oi the
chase the tigreros hunt in pairs, Oae
of them carries two short spears-one
six feet long and the other four feet
long. His companion in the hunt
carries big knife, or rather IL weapon
like butchers clsaver. The tigrero
who carries the spears walks in front,
following the dogs. The Indian with
the cleayer brings up the rear. All
he has to do is to be on hand in case
of emergency.
'As soon as the isguar finds the
dogs are on his track he makes 1t his
invariable business to turn and come
back on his track, not because he
wants to meet the dogs, for he pays
no more attention to them than ii
they were SO many hies. 1t is the
, Indian meat he wants, and he seems
to know that the dogs wouldn't b,
there if there wasn't IN Indian or two
with them. So the iagusr hurries
back with the expectation OF dining
4 on tigrero, and he does not hesitate
/ to let the tIgrero know that he is
coming, He roars at every bound he
makes, and the roar is enough to
scare to death the biggest bear that
ever lived in the Kittle Greek country
or parts adjacent.
AT the first roar of the jsguar the
tigreros stand still and wait for him.
The dogs, having done all that was
required of them in notifying the
iaguar that a couple OF tigreros were
looking for him. lie down and so to
sleep, and the iaguar might step all
over them Cor all they'd care.
"Assoon rs the tigreros see the isguar
the hunter with the long spear kneels
down. He thrusts the long spear
straight out with one hand aud holds
\ the short one in the other hand. His
companion stands near him with the
cnopping knife or cleaver raised. The
aguar doesn't know anything about
spears or cleavers All he sees in the
situation is pair of greasy Indians
l.