Hopkinsville Kentuckian. [volume] (Hopkinsville, Ky.) 1889-1918, 1897-01-19
+ CARRIAGE DOGS.
Keep Pace with the Horses with
Machine Like Regularity.

Machine-Like Regularity.
A London coachman, who for
years had charge of large and
beautiful stable of superb carriage
horses, told the writer that car
riage-dog owned by bis master in
variably ran beneath the pole chains
the moment the carriage started,
and would make the circuit Of the
park several times without moving
more than few inches from his
place, the three animals--two horses
and the dog-moving like ma
chine. Curiously enough, the dog
chose his particular horse to live
and sleep with in the stable; when
travelling and in inn stables it
mounted guard over this horses
box, and would allow no strange
hostler or groom to approach it.
Greyhounds also learn to run with
traps. 1t was the custom for sport
ing farmers in east Anglia to drive
to market with pair of these dogs,
either running with their heads just
beneath the tail board, or one on
either side of the cart. Their pace
was trot, step for step with the
horse. The use of carts and car
riages for locomotion is much more
readily learned by dogs than the art
of keeping safe among traffic. Sport
ing dogs soon learn to like being
driven to the shooting-ground.
When accustomed to this they will
jump up the moment the tail-board
is lowered, and curl up under the
seat, and show great discomfort if
not offered place. But nearly all
are singularly dull at devising any
means for safe descent when the
drive is over They usually make a
violent spring to the ground, often
when the cart has scarcely stopped,
and fractured fore legs are fire.
quent result.
Trains present far less difficulty to
them. Though occasionally afraid
of the rush and noise of the cars,
they soon learn to delight in travel
ing by rail-if allowed to accompany
their masters. They rush in the
moment the door is opened, and
some dogs, notably those who are
accustomed to comfortable drawing
rooms and soft carpets, will always
select q first-class carriage in pref
erence to q wooden-seated third. "
But though they have learned to
reckon with the speed of carriage,
and become so fond of railway trav-
cling that railway dogs" who
travel by choice and alone are quite
common-there is ''Ryde to Ports
mouth" dog too, which travels by
boat, and begs pennies for buns
no dog, and we believe no domes-
ticated animal, has ever learned to
Judge the speed of train, When
once on the line they seem, in this
country, quite unconscious Of
danger If the train is moving at
the rate of from five to twelve miles
an hour, they get out of the way;
but pack of hounds on a railway
line, even if they are not in full cry,
are always cut to pieces by the first
fast train which overtakes them.
The first thing which the driver
does when he sees them is to shut
off steam. This makes the engine
noiseless, but the whole train
rushes on, plainly visible, but with
absolutely no terror for hounds,
who seem to look on the swift, silent
thing as perfectly harmless. If it
were a corn wagon or a putting
traction engine they would get out
of the way
When the short iine of railway
was made across the neck of the
Dobrudscha, in Turkey, from
Kustendji to the Danube, the Turks
were almost as stupid. They seemed
unable to realize that the train
would not stop, and would drive
their sheep along the line, and one
man endeavored to stop runaway
truck by putting his foot on the rail.