The commonwealth. (Greenwood, Miss.) 1896-1923, 1897-09-30
MY FRIEND CARLO.
u y u
A STORY OF ANIMAL
SAGACITY.
MN

IN dogs have been written of SO vol
uminouslv. | venture to offer an abso-
1utely authentic sketch of one who's"
transceudant merits while in life well
deserve such recognition.
TO give a detailed account of this
noble creatures extraordinary doings
would fill a large volume; therefore |
will confine myself to recording a few
of those which | deem the most notable.
Early in the spring of 1888, when |
was nine years old and living in the
township of Toronto, Canada, my father
bought from the six Nations" Indians,
then occupying Il reservation on the
river Credit, eight miles from our farm.
a dog. whom, in horfor of IA deceased
predecessor, we named Carlo. This ami
nal was said to be then two years old.
He weighed, perhaps. 60 pounds, and
was not particularly prepossessing in
appearance. being of a mixed reddish
color, with an unusually large head.
dropping ears, tremendously powerful
Jaws and a tail no more than ten inches
long. That member had never been
docked, however. but was an heredi-
tary popularity was amply proven by
the fact hat many of Carlos progeny,
which, afterawhile, became quite numer7
Gus in our neighborhood, were brought
forth with precisely similar tails-a
very strange, and so far as my ohserVa-
ton goes, quite unique circumstance,
I have known hundreds of dogs born
with only rudimentary tails. but never,
except in this instance, of any thai
came into the world with apparent
ly cut off in the middle.
At first none Of us thought much OF
Gallo; but it was not long before We
discovered his value. and TO me he soon
became n constant companion. play
mate. protector and friend. Little by
little. as his good qualities were re-
yealed. we found that his sagacity was
wonderful and his courage and faith
fulness beyond all praise. Not only in
one rvle did he excel. but as watchdog,
hunter. retriever, cattle driver and
sheep herd he was perfection itself. He
feared no living thing, and would, Oh
occasion, tackle a bear, wolf or lynx
as readily as a deer, fox or rabbit. ~,
OF course he could not, unaided. kill
a full-grown bear nor an adult vol.
but would often harass and detain one
or the other until the pursuing hunter
got neal enough to shoot it; but he did
once, after n terrific fight, kill a larg'
]ynx, an animal so.formidable that not
one dog in a thousand will face it.
\ curious peculiarly of Carlos was
that although the game he was at the
moment chasing might never have beer
sighted by the listener, any such,
thoroughly familiar with him. could al
ways tell of what kind it was merely bv
the dogs name of baying. and also
whether the scent was fresh or stale.
lie had n style of bark for a deer, an
other for a bear, another for a wolf and
st;ll another for a fox, a wildcat, a rae
coon or what not.
He was the very best coon dog
ever saw or heard Of, and would kill
one of these mischicyous' creatures
however large and fierce, in less than
five minutes after coming up with. 1t.
The raccoon always throws itself upon
its back when fighting, and. instead OF
diminishing around, swapping at and
tearing the skin as ordinary dogs do
Carlo would instantly seize it by the
throat and never let go until 1t was
dead. thus not damaging the pelt at all
Between the sg~s Of II and II years
econ hunting by night was one OF my
favorite sports, and when following
Carlo his voice always told me as plain
" as by ~articulate speech whether HI
was running on hot scent. had caught
his quarry on the ground or had'treet
II. In the latter case my comrade ant
would build a fire and chop down tn
tree, whose top could scarcely. crash t.
the earth before Carlo would have thu
O Never once did he let one escape
70 another tree. ,1dfF
Altogether. aside from the fact tina
their skins were worth in the prope'
season so cents each, it was very neces
sary to destroy these obnoxious though
interesting animals. as they wrough
sas havoc among the green corn ant
oats and not in%frequently carried of
outlying young ducks and chickens.
At was a singular id~icsyncrasy OF Car
los that, although born among ant
brought up by I~ndians,rhe would never
after coming into cur possession, le'
one Of this race approach the hofs'
without showing the most violent an
ger, and. II the red mar still persisted
he. would seize some part Of his dress
and Prevsh4 his farther advance until
ovme member OF the family lntcrferod