The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1897-10-28
STYX, A BATTERY DOG.


He was fox terrier in the days when
fox terriers We're not so common as
now, and he made his appearance in
the battery one morning just as we
were "hitching up at daylight to re-
sumo the march interrupted by
nights rest in the vicinity of small
town in Louisiana. He attracted my
attention by running UP and placing
at my feet small stick and then back
ing off d little way with every muscle
OF ms body on the stretch; asking me
as pleadingly as if he spoke to throw
II That he might have the exquisite
pleasure of catching it to be brought
back again and thrown.
The captain Of battery has at such
a time something else to do than throw
sticks for dogs to fetch, and when StyX
saw me mount my horse he abandoned
| me and started off to a sergeant, who
treated him with even greater con-
tempt. Nothing abashed, he picked UP
| the stick and trotted with the column,
which was now moving along the road
and into which the battery hauled from
lhC IouhSluc Will ttCGulllpeiilllltulo VI
| clanking trace-chains and rumbling
| wheels.
Styx maintained his position some
where between our gun carriages all
| day, refusing to be allured by the dash
ing cavalry or the sober infantry, as
now and then charges occurred in the
| column, and late in the afternoon, when
we halted for the night, he reported
himself at my particular fire as If he
| were on duty as an orderly. He ask
| ed not for food or caresses, but putting
| down a stick at my feet, declared in
| his fox terrier language that if I would
please throw that for him just once
| he would consider all obligations dis
| charged In full, and threw it. He
brought it back before it had fairly
touched ground and worried me for
more of it.
The next day we We're in action. The
enemy had made a gallant stand in
| their retreat at a narrow pass, where
| it was most difficult for us to advance,
and here the genius of Styx come into
| great play. The mo 81 man, as he is
called, runs between the timber and the
| gun when the battery is in action, car
rying the missile, or cartridge, from
the ammunition chest to the mo. q
man, who places it in the gun, when
the mo. T. sends at home with the
hammer. Styx had Joined one Of the
gun detachments, and was acting as a
mo. 81 man. Receiving the cartridge
from No g." who took it from the
chest he rushed like lightning to the
gun and delivered his burden to the
eXpectant artilleryman. He was in his
element now. The thunder of the guns
could hardly drown his shrieks of JOY
as he rushed back from having de
livered one charge to get another-thi'
was something like! Why hadn't VIZ
played tina game before? Now he saw
what a battery was for!
That day gave Styx a reputation
through our whole corps. The com
manding general heard of him and re
quested me to bring him up to head
quarters An admiring circle of officer
sat about him one evening and dis
cussed whether or no dogs could b.
generally used in artillery.
Three days after came the catas
trophe We We're drawn up in line o
battle to await developments, and TO
long time nothing developed. FINAL!
distant battery began to give us it
attention. Now and then shell ex
ploded in our front or over our heads
Styx was sitting with eager eyes, il
the midst Of his favorite detachment
Suddenly an almost spent six-poun'
solid shot from the enemy struck il
front of u.s., and rolled, as it seemed
slowly into the battery. More fun!
tp nd itir,orad N
it. For the first time he had miscal
culated, But then his experience wit
artillery had been of the briefest. TIL
moving mass of iron, which seemed a
harmless as a rubber ball, crushed tn
life out of the active little volunteer
We all mourned him, and the gen
era1 said, when I told him about il
"Well, you know, war can't be carrie
on without some loss."-F w. Carrut
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