Omaha daily bee., 1896-08-15

or more. they would 90 to grazing or
nibbling around and would drag Mag after
them. She would growl and plant her feet
and thus protest against being In the
pull but never once did she drop a horse
out OF her mouth, or rather the reins by
which he was tethered TO her. Mag. infantry
bred, deserted her m and took up
with the Seventh cavalry and met with the
fate Of a deserter-or, at any rate, she was
tramped to death on November 2S, 1868,
when Custer made his charge to the tune Of
Garry Owen" into and through Black
Kettles camp OF hostile Indians, south OF
the Antelope hills in Indian Territory.
The Seventh cavalry's favorites were in
1866, as now, stag and greyhounds. General
Custer, a sportsman Of the first class, intro
duced and propagated both classes Of dogs
In the regiment. He had a score of stag
hounds. yellow dogs with shaggy hair, but
keen Of sight and feet Of foot. They not
only after sighting game, could follow 1t,
but had the courage TO tackle the biggest
gray wolf or even buffalo when giving 1t
chase. These twenty or more dogs were as
much or more of the household than either
General Custer or his wife, of late years
so famed as a lecturer on army life. In
deed, when General Custer was forced to
keep bachelor quarters on the frontier II Is
told that often on returning home at night,
lac having found his dogs ~sprawled all over
the bed. rather than disturb them, had a
hammock swung into which he sank to
hiN'BH NAAR 1hoA'Ag II &c Abihi hho
been found in a rocking chair awaiting the
return of her husband rather than disturb
the dogs as they slumbered on her bed.
DOGS OF THE THIRD.
The Third infantry was the most noted
in the old days for its Irish settlers, Colonel
De Lancy Floyd Jones introducing them to
his regiment, and not only for it's particular
breed of dogs, for the regiment for years
was famed for its shots, Colonel Richard l..
Dodge. Colonel Floyd-Jones' successor, being
regarded today, for all time past, as the
Nimrod OF the American army.
The Third cavalry. old Mounted Rifles of
the Mexican war, had a fighting frontier
record for so many years that naturally it
took to the bull terrier as it's ~favorite dog.
There was a little battle-scareo veteran of
the regiment indifferently called "Purp'' or
"Morrissey." whom 1t was claimed in New
Mexico was the champion fighter from Taos
to Messilla, and it was indifferent to him
whether 1t was dog, wildcat, wolf, bear or
mountain lion he fought. "Morrissey," a
cross between a bull terrier and a "yaller
dog" won a brevet before he succumbed to
age, and II came about in this way: An
officer of the regiment who had never heard
an angry shot fired during the civil war
somehow, after it was over, received the
brevet of major. There followed a con-
clave of young officers of the regiment, and
around their glasses at the suffers store
they determined to confer on "Purp'' or
"Morrissey" the brevet of Newfoundland"
"Purp' did not long survive the dignity.
He got into a scrap with a Mexican dog,
was for the first time whipped, and, going
into the placita of the palace on the plaza
in Santa Fe. sneaked under a tub cultivated
arbor vitae tree. lay there and died.
ARTILLERY BULLDOGS.
The artillery affected bulldogs. There used
to be one, a character as much as Beau
hickman, in Washington. He belonged TO
Major Henry A. Dupont's battery of the
Fifth United States artillery. He was the
perfect incarnation of a dog-of-war. Sala-
mander by name, he gloried in the noise,
smoke and blaze of the guns. The property
of Lieutenant a. Tracy Lee, he became a
part of the battery, one of it's characters, as
soon as brought in contact with men, horses
and guns Major Dupont's battery was
stationed at Sedgwick Barracks, Washing
ton, d. c., Just after the civil war. 1t con-
sisted Of six Napoleon or twelve-pounder
brass guns, and having to do more salute
duty Just after the war than any battery in
service, the muzzles of the guns we're fairly
melted away before being retired from the
service. In all the parades and salutes to
the %victors" in which the battery partici-
rated -Salamander took part. He sat on the
Timber chest of No. l, alongside the gunner,
and as soon as the battery was brought into
action he jumped off and rushed with 40.
1 cannoneer to the mouth of the piece. He
saw him, with no little impatience, sponge
the piece out, but when the cartridge was
inserted and rammed home he became
frantic and simply demoniacal when the
piece was fred. He anticipated the firing,
jumped toward the mouth of the cannon,
seemed to revel in the glare of the blaze,
enjoy the powder sparks and gulped in the
smoke. A Fourth Of July to him was a
greater day than to the small boy. On this
day, and this only, he would quit the bar
racks without leave of absence, and, straying
away, would take part in every ework
demonstration in the city. He would seize
upon a cracking, popping pack of frecrackers
and run down the street with them in his
mouth, leaving a trail of fire behind him.
He would try to fly after a rocket-and
irony of fate, was run over and killed by a
fire engine, a machine constructed to put
out fire, which Salamander most loved.