The Van Buren press., 1897-09-25

our 400-acre farm-all of which, in {
beast of so much intelligence, clearly
proves. | think, that he had been cruelty
treated by his first owners.
On three several occasions this dog
saved my life, each time displaying q
surprising degree of calculating judg
ment.
Through the whole length of ouf
| farm ran a stream called Etobieolxe
creek, and in June, a few months after
Carlos acquisition by us, when / had
| gained his love and confidence, there
occurred one night a tremendous down
pour of rain, swelling the creek TO a
wide, deep and dangerous torrent. Go
ing next morning, as usual, to bring
home the cows then pasturing on the
| farther side OF the stream, very rash
ly, instead of going around by rather
distant bridge, attempted to ford the
angry flood. But in n moment | was
swept off my feet and by the outward
set of the current whirled like a feather
toward its turbulent center. Being at
| that time unable to swim. would GER
| tainly have drowned then and there
had not Carlo plunged in and effected
a rescue-and in a manner evincing al
most human intelligence.
The brave fellow evidently knew that
was much heavier than himself, and
was not to be retrieved so easily as a
wounded duck. So, instead of seizing
me haphazard and perhaps drawing
my head under water. he dextrously
caught hold of the front corner of my
coat collar, thus, in effect, enabling me
to rest my head upon his if | so wished,
However, the moment he touched me
lost all fear, recovered my presence of
mind and cheerfully said LET go,
Carlo"
Seeming to guess my intention, he in
stantly obeyed, whereupon l slid my
hands along his back and grasped his
stubby tail, when, with yelp of mani
fest delight, he struck diagonally across
and downstream, towing me safely
ashore to the opposite bank, though at
point fully 100 yards below where |
had entered the water.
Then it was most touching to wit
ness his joy. After lovingly licking my
face and hands, he seampered up and
down the bank like a wild thing, rap
turously barking and showing his hap
piness in every possible way, while now
and then darting back to my side to re-
new his earesses and receive my own.
When satisfied with this fun, he col
lected the cows and made them swim
the creek, but did not follow them
across, thinking perhaps, that | was
not yet to be trusted alone, and that 1t
was his duty to accompany me home
by way of the bridge.
About two months afterward Carlo
saved me from being torn to pieces by
cougar, an animal extremely rare in
western Canada even at that early day,
called .spanther" by the old hunters,
though the true panther does not exist
in any part of America. As a full ac
count of this adventure has already
been published, can only say here that,
had it not been for my faithful friends
extraordinary sagacity in discovering
the crouehing beast and his dauntless
courage in attacking it, l should most
certainly have become its prey. As it
was, thanks to the dog, the great cat
was shot by my father, receiving one
half the bounty money and my gal
liant hound unstinted praise.
Perhaps dogs may not possess what
we, in our wisdom, call inductive rea-
soning powers, but Carlo was gifted
with something marvelously like such.
Mere instinct will hardly account for
his conduct in the following instance:
One summer morning, in March, 1894,
| was standing at our back door, which
overlooked the creek and little field
opening out of the barnyard beyond.
In this paddock were at the moment
frisking a number of February
lambs, while their mothers were nib
bling such chance tufts of grass as had
escaped the winters frosts.
While l looked delightedly at the in
nocent creatures gambols, great,
giant gray wolf, having sneaked unob
served from the forest, a half mile
further up stream, suddenly leaped
the low fence dashed through the flock,
seized a lamb in his mouth and was off
forestward like flash.
Carlo lay doing in the sun at my
feet Look, Carlo, look!" | cried,
pointing to the retreating wolf. In an
instant he caught sight of the ma
rauder, but did he rush across the creek
in direct pursuit and thus prematurely
alarm the brute, give 1t long start and
thus entail upon himself a probably
hopeless stern chase? No; he did some
thing far wiser and more effectual
Without giving tongue a all, he started
off at full speed up my side of the
stream, far enough from the banks
brink to prevent the enemy seeing him,
and was at the edge of the forest some
little time before the encountered wolf
could reach its shelter. Then, con-
cealed by impinging bushes and trees,
he bounded through and across the
creek, hid himself in the brushwood
and met the rayenous beast face to face
when il came along. Meantime, hear
ing me call, several of the family came
TO the door and witnessed what fol-
lowed
On seeing Carlo, the half-starved wolf
did not at once relinquish his prey, but
swerved from his course and tried TO
gain the woods at a more distant point
"a fatal mistake on his part, for the
dog, nearly as swift as he in any case,
was on him before he had gone 100
feet. Then he dropped the lamb and
attempted to close with Carlo in a death
struggle. He might as well have tried