The San Francisco call., 1897-11-14

, book" as the phrase is. W here smaller
animals of value only as pets, have been
the objects of attack, the plan has been to
wound the possessor through the suffer
ings of something which is dear to him.
Here is the rope with which the horse
of Thomas Haskins was. not two years
since, bound and hung up in his stall by
some midnight visitor who had grudge
against his owner; and here also is the
hammer which was used by that same
visitor to smash the bones OF the poor
creature's head and beat out his eyeballs.
After passing through this night Of agony
the horse was found hanging IN his bonds
the next morning, still alive, and was
mercifully killed. The wretch or wretches
who took this roundab bout but most cruel
way OF apparently repaying grudge we're
never punished. Two arrests were made
but the evidence available was insufficient
to convict, and the suspected persons
we're allowed to go free.
In a little bundle are some bits of evil
dence which led to the conviction on
irrefutable crcumstantal evidence, of
revengetul scavenger. This man, one
night in 1895, stole into the stable where
he and a former friend of his had, until
a recent quarrel which had led to his own
withdrawal, stabbed the horses together.
His quondam friends horse was still
there, and over it's unoffendiEg head he
poured bottle full of carDoic acid, burn.
ing the flesh to the bone and nearly
destroying one eye. l; is gratifying to
learn that, after a hard-fought legal battle
in which an appeal was taken to the Supe-
rior Court, this individual WAS made to pay
a fine OF $780, which, though it seems pitt
fully inadequate in the premises, still,
doubtless, caused him sufficient mental
anguish" to warn him against indulging
in such amusements in future.
Instances of this kind are sadly numer-
Gus in the history of the society; but there
are many instances also in which there
was no element of intended revenge upon
human beings, but where the whole
terrible affair sprang from a brutal desire
to punish the animal itself, or make it
obey the will of its master.
To the former class belongs the incident
of which certain bloody batcher-knife il
a memento. With this mild instrument
of correction a grocer OF Eureka Valley
once, in the retirement of his back yard
stabbed a dog thirty-two consecutive
times The reason given for this proceed
ing was that the dog, following his natural
instincts, had chased" the amiable
grocer's cat on the previou. day-no allie
CATION being made, however, that he had
injured The pet in the least.
A pair of spurs, with rowels over an inch
long, shamefacedly confess, through the
medium of a card which is attached to
them, that taey are the instruments of
torture which hilariously intoxicated
fellow used to tear open the sides of the
horse he bestrode, because the animal
more sensible than his rider-did not
wish to carry him over a screen door into
the interior of saloon.
board an incn thick, eight incbe.
wide and eight teet long. was used by
certain Thomas Allen 30 beat his unfortu.
nate steed over the head and neck.
Thomas was lucky enough to escape with
a fine of only $40, but as year has passed
since this exhibition of tem,er on his
part, and he has not again fallen into the
clutches of the law, it is thought that the
sum must have been large enough in his
eyes to teach him at least a moderate
amount of self-control.
One of the worst cases of cruelty ever
known in this city was the work OF two
peddlers, whose iIl-used horse baked one
day and refused to carry his heavy load
farther. After energetically and assidu-
ously trying the various forms of torture
which are popularity supposed to be etfica-
cious on such occasions they invented
new one OF their own, which b ad the merit
at least of curing that particular horse of
the equine vice 10 which they objected.
They fastened a rope around his tongue
tied the free end 10 another cart and
whipped up the forward norse, with the
result that the tongue was at once torn
out by the roots. The agonized creature
was shot, and the peddlers served six
months sentence, during which it is
hoped they found time and opportunity to
reflect upon the undesira bility of possess
ing and exercising too much ingenuity.
A razor rusted with blood brings to
mind the story of the woman who, be-
cause his driver in her estima alton came
too near her child who was playing on