Santa Fe daily New Mexican. [volume] (Santa Fe, N.M.) 1885-1897, 1895-03-12
THAT DOG OF BIxBY'S.
Though He Was a Disturbing Element, He
Was Cared For.

Was Cared For.
Speaking of dogs" said the man with
glass eye, reminds me of an experience
had once with friend Of mine named
Bixby-Samuel j. Bixby."
''That's reflection on Mr.. Bixby," re-
marked listener.
"Im telling this story" replied the
man. GAS was going to say, Bixby was
friend of mine that would have done
anything in the world for. think if Blk
have done it with pleasure. Well, Bixby
had dog he laid great store by because
1t belonged to his wife, and when he took
notion to go to California and travel for
big San Francisco grocery house he ask
ed me to take care Of the dog for him, be-
cause it wasn't possible for him to take IL
along with him. tell you Bixby thought
lot of that dog, and when he told me
about how he hated to leave 1t the tears
actually came to his eyes, and kind OF
shifted little myself. The dog was at
dog fancier's in an adjoining town, and
was to send for it as soon as conven-
iently could do so. 1t was mastiff-at
least thought he said so-about 2 years
DID, and Bixby said 1t would be mighty
useful about the place as watchdog. l
needed watchdog, but that wasn't what
was doing this for. 1t was simply to
please to Bixby. Well, he got away at last,
and as the train pulled out for the west he
waved his hand to me and called back not
to nelect tho dog. And l didn't. The
very next day I sent ono of my stable
boys over after it, and he brought IL
back in good shape. And what dog il
was! AS big as calf and would cat four
times as much And what savage brutel
We had to tic him up in the back yard
tho first night, and after that wo kept him
in the stable mostly, for the hired girl was
scared to death of him, and the hoys used
to put his meals down in front of him and
run as If they had set fire to a fuse Of a
dynamite bomb
cat the end of the first week that dog
owned the place, and had to pay the boys
extra to look after him. As for myself,
even my devotion to Bixby was not enough
to get me within dozen rods Of 1t. just
the same, though, had promised Bixby
not to neglect the dog and I kept that
promise faithfully. And not for a week or
month or year, but for four long years.
Think of that will you!' And the man
heaved great sigh, partly of relief of a
duty done and partly of admiration for
himself. "And in that time, gentlemen"
he continued, II lost half my friends, my
wife threatened to move out of the house,
the neighbors shook us, servants refused
to live with me, fought the police to
keep them off of him, the back yard and
the stable became wilderness and a scene
of desolation, and was on the verge Of
lunacy. Yet, through 1t all, was loyal
to Bixby and the dog.
swell, the end of all things must come,
and the end of this trying occasion came
at last with Bixby. He had returned with
money, and the first thing he wanted to
know about was the dog. I had never
failed to report to him at least once a
month on the general health and happi-
ness of the dog, and he knew pretty well
how he was doing, though he never knew
what l suffered, for loved Bixby too
much to worry him with my trials He
had enough of his own, going into new
country among strange people. When
got home with Bixby, my wife refused to
sec him, but didn't tell him Of that Oh
Their, and before there was any reason for
my lying about it Bixby was on his way
to see the beloved dog, after all Of these
weary years of separation and waiting. l
cautioned him to be little careful, for
the dog hadn't seen him for SO long that
he mightn't remember him. But Bixby
wouldn't hear to anything like that and
sailed right into the stable, remaining
outside SO as not to intrude upon the af-
fecting scene of their meeting. In about
two minutes there was a ruction and
rumpus in that stable that was simply
terrorizing, and in about two minutes
more Bixby, or what was left of him,
came out of the door, with the dog hang
ing to him. How he ever got loose I
don't know, but he did, and the next thing
l remember we were sitting on, the top of
the fence looking at each other. 1t took
Bixby about seven minutes to get his
breath SO he could say anything, and
hadn't anything to say. Then what he
did say gave me such a shock that fell
off the fence into the alley.
Good Lord, old man., he groaned,
that isn't my dog and never was. Mine
was bull pup
"And to think" concluded the friend
of Mr.. Bixby, signing profoundly, what
/ suffered from the wrong dogP'-Detroit
Free Press.