St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1896-03-28
BOO WITH THE STRAP HABIT.

4 Yo0ng Mongrol Terrier with Doc1ao6s
~ Original Mind.
sEN1tefn emo nsElt0fn up over the
4 natye3ous 4gacitI of stoutly built
noogfei terrier belonging to farmer
living near the middle branch Of the
Little Beaver, three ua1leQ southeast Of
Ekton, IN Nk9u1 tornship. Column
biauA county. PAte B. the terriers
name and he IL wholly without educa-
ton. He il young dog. and whatever
he il he has made himself.
Pete first came into local prom
inence through he i1s terate heSding
instinct, due, no doubt, to distant
trace ct collie ancestry in his blood.
Whenever he got tired OF playing about
the spring house he rollicleef1 into the
big pasture field and brought the cows
to be MIXED. The habit grew on him
until r. rounded up the weary animals
half dozen times day.
One night Pete's owner, Prank Bow
man, heard him chasing tbs cattle
home for hours in q kind Of canine
nightmare. The next day the disguised
farmer. lacked him up in the calf pen
and kept him for a month on diet Of
pumpkins and water. When Pete was
released his delusion had vanished.
Il was about this time that his most
useful trait appeared. The blowing
season was ON and Mr.. Bowman was
wont TO leave the wagons in tho field
when tho dinner bell sounded, aud
take his horses in to the stables for
incoming. He rode one. the hired boy
tho other and the third they led. The
odd horse jerked loose one day and
stood ,cbelliously with dangling strap.
Fetc Srasped the sitIation and the strap
almost at the same time. and trotted
up the long lane leading the astonished
brute Mt his heels. When the farmer
reached the stable there squstted Pete,
still holding the halter strap. while tho
plow horse stared quizzically down
upon him.
Thereafter II was the understood
thing that Pete shrould lead this horse,
and wien once his charge tried to
break away the sagacious mongrel ran
twice around q sap!ing with the strip
in his mouth and sat down 10 await de-
velopments. It is pointed out that
such intelligence il very unusual in 30
young q dog.
This incident furnished the key to
Pete's subsequent development. All
last summer he was allowed to sleep in
the hammock on the front porch. A
strap tackled to the door post hung
within reach, and whenever he grew
restless he would seize 1t and swing
himseif to and fro When rrturning
from market one day, ambling quietly
beneath the farmers wagon, he espictl
two small children playing horse"
with leather strap in the roadway.
An hour later, when the farmers hired
boy fastened back to ascertain his
whereabouts he was seen marching
grimly mp the road. having in tow The
luckless juveniles who had played the
horse. This escapade seriously annoyed
Mr.. bowman.
Pete'a temporary disgrace was for
gotten. however, when harvesting be-
gan. His owner had big Mccormick
reaper and binder. which tied the bum
dies Of wheat with a neat cord. Tie
old strap instinct reasserted itself at
once, and Pete began to seize the brn-
dies as fast as they were thrown on
by the machine, and drug them out Of
ITS reach. on the succeeding circuit cf
the field. The bundles were q little
heavy for him, but as the wheat straw
was unusually short last summer. be
continued to.make out.
Mr. Bowman is negotiating for the
purchase of full brother of Pete,
owned in the adjoining township OF
Yellow Creek. Allowing FOR climatic
differences, this brother shows much |
the same aptitudes. His speciality Is
pulling taffy. 1t is hoped that the two |
mongrels may learn to work in pairs |
whenever the wheat harvest Is heavy. |
They were born in a harness closet
n " Mai1 and Eyn:eSs