Santa Fe daily New Mexican., 1897-09-09
THE DOGS OF WAR.

THE DOGS OF WAR.
On the left Of the pup lines of Greek
infantry lay on the high, bare hills,
firing without intermission. Gray smoke
went up and backward from all these
lines. Sometimes wounded men came
from there and passed the pup as he sat
rejecting in the roadway. Directly in
his front mountain battery of the
Greeks was roaring and the horses and
mules of the command were browsing
the grass in sheltered place not far
from the pup. Some soldiers lay in an
upturned furrow Of brown trenches.
If the pup had studied the vast green
plain on his right, he would have seen
black lines and lines still fainter than
black, and these lines were all Turks.
Frequently crescendo of hoots and
hurtling noises was in the air above
him, and the shells crashed as they
struck Moreover, there was sometimes
curious singing of great insects. But
for all these things the pup did not
care.
He was little pup, not larger than
kitten, but he was fat and fairly
smothered in long white wool, marked
here and there with black, and he had
every Indifference of fat pup. Two
soldiers came that way on their return
to the front, and, seizing him, paused.
One stopped and offered him gently
bit of hard biscuit, but he had been
used to other food, and, with the inso-
lence of babyhood, he scorned the gen.
erosity of these men who had stopped
under fire to give him assistance. They
laughed then and stroked his long hair
and went away to their business.
The pups interest was always the
thing directly under his nose. He was
really in the battle of Velestino, but
what he wanted to do was to waddle in
his curious way among the stones of the
roadway and smell at them and fall
over them whenever he forgot that he
was top heavy. Although he was not
larger than cake of soap he had some
thing elephantine in his movement His
little legs were still very weak, and he
sprawled and straddled over the road
in way that one would expect of a
baby elephant. Once cavalryman with
orders galloped past him, and hoof of
the gray charger missed him by little,
but he didn't care for that either. He
was busy with his geological survey.
The Examiner correspondent came
along from the firing line at that time
and stopped when he saw the dog. The
dog had been trying to scratch his near
ear with his off hind leg, but he stopped
when he saw The Examiner correspond
ent. They looked at each other in re-
Elective silence. The pup had crafty
eye, and he put his head on one side
and surveyed the correspondent with
much attention to detail. Another shell
came close then, and your correspondent
said, "Come on, pup" He took the pup
in his arms
The dog was naturally named Veles-
tino at once. There was thought in
the correspondents mind of calling him
Loot. But then he was not really loot.
He was simply Greek pup deserted by
his relatives and friends in most try
ing hour, who had accepted the assist
ance of a correspondent of The Exam
liner. His home had probably been in
one of the stone huts that stood here
and there along the road, now all lone
ly. His owners had probably souttled
out at word Of the coming Of the Turks.
But he didn't care about this either.
He simply lolled on the correspondent
arm and blinked fatty at the passing
landscape.
When the correspondent arrived where
his horses awaited him, he gave the
pup Velestino into the hands Of his
Greek boy and stood and admonished
him sternly for five minutes about the
inadvisability Of losing that pup. The
boy grinned and took Velestino in his
arms.
Later the pup got under particularly
heavy artillery. fire. While the corre-
spondent's party was crossing bit Of
plain the Turks opened fire on near
by house. One would have thought
they had opened on the pup, because
they came nearer to the pup than they
did to the house. There was some ex-
citement The stragglers in the road
scurried everywhere. The correspond
ent had bit Of trouble with his horse,
which had been hurt in the back by
some kind Of fragment, and when it
was all over he looked around for the
pup, the two servants and the other
horses, and there was none.
Late that night in Volo knock
came to the correspondents door, and
as he called out it opened, and the
Greek boy appeared, witha bow and a
grin.
Where is the pup?" said the corre-
spondent instantly.
The Greek boy had brought large
piece Of shell which he said had almost
killed him, and he exhibited it proudly.
where is the pup?"
The boy said he was sure he was 60
ing to be killed when he beard the shell,
and he now considered his escape to be
a miracle. The correspondent arose i'm
pressively to his feet. Where is the
pup?"
Well--poor velestino, poor corre-
spondentl-they were united only to be