The Dawson news. (Dawson, Ga.) 1889-current, 1894-09-19
BILL ARP'S LETTER.
WILLIAM AT WAR WITH THE
WHOLE CANINE RACE.
Says They Hold Dogmatic Conven-
tiOns Nightly Around His House.


can't get up half dozen times in the night
to shoot popgun pistol at the dogs. l never
saw such crop as there is this year; l never
knew them so impudent. Every night they con-
gregate all round my house, and on the front
portico and the back piazza hey play while
and fight while. BY the time get the pistol
and open the door they scatter and | can't get
aim in the dark on any one-never could shoot
much on the wing nohow. But give me
double-barrel shotgun and fence to rest it on
and dead still game within easy reach and l
can shoot as good as anybody. I'm waiting for
moonlight nights now, and then woe be unto
dogs. There are dozen or more here every
night. They are holding protracted meeting
or dogmatic convention, and | think that our
Scotch dog Laddie presides. l think he invites
them, for he won't fight them. Our grove is
such beautiful playground and the plazzas
are so long and broad and the tennis court is
near by. But it is late thing-this dog camp
meeting at my house, and we don't understand
it. The other night l got up and slipped
around in my celestial garments until caught
cold / shot three times, but the dogs never
even yelped nor run away. Next morning my
wife gave her consent for me to use stricknlne.
So l visited the drug store and called for the
deadly poison. The young man looked at me
with suspicious tone of voice and asked me
if had been reading Bob 1ngersoll on suicide,
but he finally put up the stricknine and made
me sign receipt on the pisen book.
That night just before we went to
church | locked up our dog and
put out two pieces of beef at the back door
and two at the front door. When we came
back the beef was gone, but not the dogs 1t
looked to me like they were more thicker, more
denser as Cabe says. l put out four more
pieces and got up about midnight and prowled
around with q lantern. l found big spotted
hound staggering and Keeling at the back door.
He fell over the old mares water bucket and
seemed to me to be enjoying his agon1es.
waited on him while and concluded to hurry
him up little; so 1 went back and got the lit
tie pistol and put it in about foot of his head
and fired. He kicked the bucket awhile ana
departed this life intestate.
But as vet we have no relief. l don't know
how many have wandered off to die, but last
night the convention was bigger than ever and
more tumultuOus and see no RELIEF but moon
light nights and half dozen shotguns. Some
of the town boys are going to come over and
have picnic.
Dogs are curious creatures. There is no anil
NAL of better qualities or worse ones; no race
of animals of such endless variety. There Is
none 80 loyal to his master and dlsloyal TO other
people, and hence nobody cares for any dog ex-
cept his own. The good st. Demands maxim
"Love me, love my dog" is good theory put
poor practice. A good, faithful dog commands
more affection than the favorite horse that Is
far more stately and valuable man Will de-
fend his dog from abuse almost as vigorously as
he will his child and the maxim might VOL De
modified to IF you love me you must respect
my dog"
But the best dogs in the world have streak
of wolf nature in them. The most faithful
watch dog will slip off between midnight ana
day to Join in a raid upon nelghborlng hock
of sheep. have known them to go two miles
to engage in this business and nothing betrayed
them but the wool that was found between their
woo aGtO their
owners.
Somehow or other dogs have been under the
ban in all ages and countries. At least
other peoples dogs have: Goliath said to
David "Am dog?" etc. David said; Il am
compassed about with dogs" St. John ruled
them out of heaven for he said: without are
dogs and sorcerers and murderers and ldola-
tors" etc. He saw horses in heaven but no
dogs. The ancient astronomers declared the
dog star to have an evil malignant influence,
and hence the weather was hot and fiery during
the thirty or forty days that it rose aud set
with the sun in July and August.
Even the small boy takes his first lesson IN
swearing by saying ''dog on it," or Iii be
docced." This may be called cur-sory ex-
preston, but sometimes it leads to cur-slng.
The dog star is bright star in the tail OF the
dog-maior canis-and sailors guided their
vessels by il before the discovery OF the maSnet.
They called it Cynoscuros which, IN Greek
means dogs tail. The pretty word ''cynos-
ure" comes from this So when it is said OF a
beautiful woman in an assembly that she was
the cynosure of all eyes it literally means thaS
she was the dogs tail of the whole concern.
The word 'Fcynic" is an unkind reflection upon
the dog, for it means dog in the shape of a
snappish, snarling. ill-natured man. To say OF
bad man that he is as mean as dog is an
other unjust reflection. Better say he is SIS
mean as a mean dog, Or suck.egg dog, or
sheep-kilIing dog or nigger's hound. Some
men are meaner than the common run of dogs.
Shakespeare says: 'Td rather be a dog and
bay the moon" One of the first hymns we
children learned was by DR., Watts and 1t be-
gan
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