Iowa state bystander. [volume] (Des Moines, Iowa) 1894-1916, 1894-11-16
When Men Flee.

Had hungry Ion been turned loose,
had Il mad tiger been released from its
cage, had terrible serpent made its
appearance among men, there would
have been Il frightened rush and Il sink
ING of hearts, but no such feeling Of
terror as fell upon men when the shout
was suddenly heard:
Look out Tor the mad dog"
There was wild. desperate rush for
places of safety. There were women
at the doors children in the street
but men fled away and left them to take
care of themselves. That cry had
struck the heart with such Il chill as the
peril of fire or flood or the battlefield
can never bring. 1t was Gods mercy
that the brute paused for moment &c
the head of the street not in fcar--not
for observation but to turn and writhe
and twist and sava"cly bite his p:tntin
sides and tired legs.
A mastif1 which would almost rival a
lion in size and strengthens jaws
dropping yellowish foam his black
breast tleckcd and spotted his eyes
blazing the fires of Il thousand agonie,s
his lips drawn back TO show his terrible
teeth. and men and women and chic
rcn knew that his bite meant death n
its most awful form. That one precious
moment saved Il dozen lives As the
brute ceased tearing himself and co.,
tinued his way. the street was clear ut
human life. There We're horses hitchGd
here and there The poor beasts seemed
to realize that some awful danger mel-
aced. With ears pointed forward-with
eyes dilated and full of fear--with
hanks heaving us ii they had but ended
u gallopp. they waited their fate. TIE
sight Of living objects seemed to arouse
II new fury in the dog. and he sprang
left great patch OF blood and froth to
mark the spot his fang> had ent-
cred A second =, third 4 fourth
and then he desieted. He seemed
to have been seized with sudden
fear. He crouched under II wagon and
whined and trenlbled rs il expecting
punishment The horses nervonsly
lifted their feet, and he shrank away.
A wandering chr came around the
corner. barked loudly ut the stranger
in the village. and the brute SO terrible
!, moment before grovelcd III the dust
and howlcd in dismay.
tt is so with paroxysms of madness.
He soon rose up, skunk off down the
street, and, when finding himself fol-
lowed, he turned aside into an open
gate to hide himself. The hand OF
Providence was in it, He entered a
paddock from which there was no
escape, and a trembling hand closed the
gate upon him. 1t was not Il moment
too soon The fires of madness blazed
up again and sent the blood boiling
through every vein. and fear WAS no
longer in control. He dashed about
the incosure swapping at every stick
and chip and bush tearing ut the
boards fiin.ing his froth over the
grass and high up on the fence.
Now. rs the head and shoulders of Il
man appeared above the fence to OBJ
serve his movements. the dog became
the incarnation Of ferocity. His eyes
blaze anew: his fangs gleam through
bloody foam; his hair stands erect; his
tail lashcs the ground in snbdued fury
He moves toward the fence creeping
-wrthing choking back his agonies
tor the moment while he scores another
victim. Creep creep the foam drip
ping -the fangs clashing the muscles
gathering for one mighty effort Now.
with terrible growl he springs. seem
ing sure of his vengeance. but he
strikes the boards and falls back on the
ground to writhc and twist and tear his
own flesh again.
Other men appear Guns are being
brought out to shoot the brute. The
sound OF human voices cnrages him to
fury. He goes rushing about, swapping.
snarling. vindictive. Wounds but add
to his fury for the time, and the hands
which hold rife and revolver tremble
as the weapons are pointed. By and
by. worn out with his eNertions and
weakened by loss of blood. he stands
and faces his enemies. In those blazing
eyes is Terror. In those fangs is Feroci-
ty. In that dripping foam is Death.
When he finally sinks down and dies a
town draws long breath of relief. Not
fire, nor flood, nor cyclone. nor cpl
demic would have so unerved men and
frozen the hearts of women. Detroit
Free Press.