Barton County democrat. [volume] (Great Bend, Kan.) 1885-1915, 1895-10-31
HELD BY A DOG.
q. Burglars Unpleasant Expert
epce In Western Pennsylvania
How Els WeI1-Laid Plans All Failed He
cause of q White BuIldog-It Cost
Him Three Years and
Six Months.

''One of my most painful expert
ences." said the retired burglar to
the New York Sun man, 81 had in
town in western Pennsylvania. In
the course of my customary prelim-
mary walk I had fixed my eye upon
a small but trim-looking Queen
Anne cottage which stood upon a
little bit of knoll in quite good
sized lot, with a grass plot all
around it. The cellar windows were
good and high and easy, and I Sc
lected one at the rear of the house
SO as to be as far as possible secure
from observation, though that
seemed, on such a night, an almost
unnecessary precaution. 1t was one
of the darkest nights 1 ever knew,
and nobody could have seen you ten
feet off, but then there was the
danger of being heard. and so it was
sensible, of course, to go in at rear
window. 1t is always foolish to take
any unnecessary risk.
''Well, found I couldn't unfasten
this window from the outside, so l
waited for the next thunder clap
there was a thunderstorm coming
up, that's what made it so dark
and then broke hole in the glass
and reached In for the catch. The
instant my hand got through the
hole 1t was grabbed by a dog that
I knew would bold on till he died.
There could be no possible doubt
about that; the vigor and dash and
power Of the grip and the absolutely
firm and rigid hold were unmistak-
able. With the next flash Of light
ming I saw him, o white bulldog,
standing on the head of a barrel
under the window with my hand in
his mouth. He'd been roaming
around that cellar, on the alert, and
he'd heard me from the start. He
was on the barrel, no doubt, when
was working at that window on the
outside, and all he wanted was to
have me get In.
cit was bad to have to do it, H.:
had to. couldn't pull away from
him any more than I could have
pulled my hand out from under q
pile driver. So I reached around as
well as could with my left hand
and got my gun, and when the next
flash of lightning came fired. I
knew must have hit him, too, but
not much more than that, for he
didn't let go. He just shut his
teeth together tighter-though I
wouldn't have thought he could do
that, but he did-till I thought the
teeth must come together through
my hand. It makes me vince now
just to think of it. When the next
flash came I saw him again. There
was blood trickling down the side of
his head from where I'd hit him, but
his teeth were set In q hold that I
knew I couldn't have broken with a
jimmy. There are times when cir
cumstances are agin man, and this
was one of 'em.
II could hear EN- in the house al
ready. They'd heard the pistol, as
I knew they would, and they were
coming. The door at the head of
the cellar stairs opened and two
young men with light came tEm-
bling down. They saw the dog
standing on the barrel with my
hand in his mouth and my arm run
ming out through the window. Well,
one of them came out for me, and
was easy, dead easy; he tied me up
without any more trouble than if I'd
been bundle of rags, and the man
inside got the dog off. somehow,
don't know how. Then they took
me into the house and sent for o
DOCTOR and needed one, and then
they sent me q hospital to stay until
l was tried. He cost me three years