Daily Kennebec journal., 1895-09-02
MAINE GOSSIP.

Hospitable VIM. Holt OF West Bridgtor
is the victim of misplaced sympathy and
| confidence. While soundIy asleep, about
| midnight he was aroused from his bed
by party Of six men, utter strangers tC
him, who stated they had just come from
Pleasant Mountain, where they had vain
ly tried to obtain blueberries, were tried
and their two horses quite hungry and
asked for entertainment. Mr. Holt
though annoyed by such nocturnal call,
readily acceded to their request and kind
Iy bedded and fed the horses and provided
comfortable quarter5 for the men in the
barn. This done he returned to his bed
Next morning about o'clock he was
astir He went to tho barn, to see how
his guests were fourishing-but 10! no
guests were there They had not stood
upon the order of their gong-left not
so much as card of thanks; worse, still,
they had stolen and carried off consider
able quantity Of hay from their generous
host. Such mennness excited his right
eous Indignation, and he would be only
too happy to meet them again. 1t Is
thought they hailed from Casco or vicin-
ity, but nothing definite Is known as to
who they were.
A bad dog, who resides in Biddeford.
has raised a legal question for the fathers
Of that city that is puzzling them not a
little, The canine In question amused
himself by killing in a single night 19
hens belonging to a Mrs. Hutchins. She
reported her loss to the city marshal and
asked to be reimbursed under the dog
law; but 1t is a question whether or not
her claim can be legally allowed. The
statutes OF Maine provide that If an un-
identified dog kills any shop" or other
domestic animal" the town or city if
notified within u hours shall pay the
owner therefor and then collect from the
state. In this case the unidentified dog
has proceeded according to statute and so
has Mrs Hutchins and the municipal
officers have only to consider the grave
question as to the hens.
This raises the grave and scientific
question. Is the hen domestic animal?
The Biddeford journal believes that
she is, and backs up its belief as follows
She has been the companion Of man from
prehistoric times ArchHologists who
have delved In the caves OF pleistocene Q
man along the banks of the Loire have
found there, mingled with human bones
and those of the reindeer, musk-ox and
dogs, smaller bones which are clearly
those of short winged birds; but whether
they were tame or not they are unable to
say. 1t is doubtful if the paleolithic man
had succeeded In tanning the hen because
a bird is not so easily domesticated as
beast and because he could kill wild
fowl with less labor than he could pro
vide grain for tame ones. So of all
domestioated animals it is probable that
the hen is the latest acquisition. Darwin
in his exhaustive work on the variation
Of animals under domcstication believes
all her varieties originated from the gal
lus bankiva' or game cock and traces the
original home of this bird to the island of
Sumatra and ad iacent countries Certain
It is that she was known to our Aryan
ancestors on the 1anks of the Hindoo
koosh mountains aud travelled west with
him through all his migrations. In ths
New Testament the allusions TO the domes-
ticity Of the hen ara frequent, -'' as hen
gathereth her chickens under her wings"
and the cock that crew thrice at Peters
denial being readily recalled And so his
tory and science unite with common
sense in declaring that if any creature is
tanned and domesticated, the hen is. In
fact except in her original home, the East
Indian Islands, the hen is unknown save
rs domestleated, There may be wild
horses, Rocky Mountain sheep and wild
geese, but the hen has become SO depend
ent on man that 1t is very doubtful if she
could hustle for herself successfully except
in midsummer