Hopkinsville Kentuckian. [volume] (Hopkinsville, Ky.) 1889-1918, 1897-08-27
A WONDERFUL DOG.
Contest Between Two Men to Secure
the Freakiest Freak.


Contest Bs,ween Two Men to Secure
The Freakiest Freak.
/ There is a railroad Office in St.
Louis which has been struck by new
craze. Or, to speak more correctly,
peculiar craze has struck two people
connected with a railroad Office The
Office in question is the Baltimore q
Ohio Southwestern, and the craze is
the gathering of freaks Col. w. p.
Townsend is the city passenger agent
and John p Rogerman is chief clerk
Of the general agent Each has a
varied collection of strange animals,
and it is the ambition of each to own
freak which can outbreak the freak
owned by the other man.
Mr.. Rogcrman appeared at the of
fee the other morning with a bland
smile on his face and manner which
portcnded that he knew something
of which the rest Of the world was ig-
norant. lie said not a word, but sat
down and looked at Col Townsend in
a plying kind of way, which the lat
ter failed to understand. After gaz-
ing at the colonel in this manner for
some time, Mr. Rogcrman said:
"Well, / feel sorry for you, but I've
got you beat"
"What's troubling you? Didn't
you sleep well?' asked the colonel.
"Yes, / slept well enough, but I've
got ond that you can't touch" an
swered Rogerman.
Gone what?"
"Why, freak. And it's the only
freak that ever happened. Wait a
minute and I'll have it brought in.
The boy has it outside"
The chief clerk then went to the
door and came walking proudly back,
followed by a boy who held one end
of string, while on the other end was
the most curious specimen of a quad
ruped that had ever been seen by any
one in the Office.
1t was about three feet long and
about one foot high. Itstood on four
legs, which looked as if they had been
put on in a hit-and-miss sort ola way.
These legs bowed out until they
formed almost half circle, but the
most curious part of them were the
feet. The legs proper were not more
than an inch in thickness, but the feet
were fully as large as a mans hand,
and as the animal walked they tapped
down on the floor like the sole of a
black-face comedians shoe The tail
was about an inch long, and looked
as if it had been born that way, and
the ears were almost as long as the
tail was short
cts dog" said Mr., Rogerman,
smiling triumphantly on the colonel,
as the latter gazed in amazement on
the strange animal. And the freak
actually smiled as Mr. Rogerman
spoke.
"Look at him smilep' yelled the
colonel. "That's the first time it ever
knew what it was"
Mr.. Rogerman looked at him in
dignantly and then ordered the boy
to take the freak carefully home and
feed him on a solution of Rhine wine,
angels food and spaghetti. He says
that is the only thing the dog will eat.
"Where did you get it?" asked Col.
Townsend.
81 wouldn't tell you for 81 ,000,"
said Rogerman. "He is a twin, and
if you knew where he came from you
would go after the other one. l have
opened negotiations for him myself,
for this one gets lonesome, and be-
sides that | want to perpetuate the
Species"
Mr.. Rogerman then walked proudly
out of the office and took car home
to see that his freak was properly fed.
Col. Townsend admits that the chief
clerk has shade the best of him at
present, but says that he knows of a
cat at a little station down the line
which can outbreak the nightmare
owned by Mr.. Rogerman.-St. Louis
Republic.