The age-herald., 1898-03-09
THE REGIMENTS
 DOG, "CALAMITYD

| Who can tell when the calamity AoWl
 began?'
 T can," said Dr. Carlson one of a party of six in game of cinch.
 Then pr. Carlson told story that will
 interest all classes of readers, because
 stories about army pets never fails to in- | terest.
 "our regiment was camped at Pine Hill. | Ark, for a long time. One day there | marched into our regiment a peculiar | looking dog cross between gray and | brown, with very large ears that hung | down like a hounds, large limbs and a
 head unlike a hounds, but with a bay that | was houndish. At once he became a pet. | One morning, our pet showed us a nest of 1 puppies. The news of the event went | through the brigade within an hour, and | hundreds of the boys dropped around to | see and welcome the newcomers. For one reason or another, probably because the | little fellows were handled and petted so | much, all but one of them died within a l month. Not long after that, not seeing | the mother making the rounds of the tents | on her customary morning calls, one of the l boys went to dog headquarters and saw the | surviving puppy sitting on his launches
 mounrfully whining and looking at it's mo- | tionesS mother.
 Our company pet was dead
 That afternoon the dog was given suitable military burial and we turned our undivided attention to bringing up the puppy. It was taken into one of the tents and cared for tenderly as a mother
 would care for her baby. It was necessary to keep a constant supply of milk MIX was not an army ration. We had plenty of the condensed sort, but the surgeon said that that would soon make the little one join his mother brothers and sisters, so one of our company volunteered to
 forage for milk. Stringing on a couple of canteens he set out. He was gone two hours and when he came back he had plenty of milk but had to travel, going and coming, over four miles, Every drop Of | that precious milk was saved for the young | dog There was no lack of volunteers to | go in search of milk. He was well fed on | that ration until he was large enough to | feed on army rations, like the rest Of us, | and then he was constantly in danger or being over fed.
 "When six weeks on two months old 1t was decided to give the new pet name. All of the regimental geniuses and we had our full quota of them, were invited to the tent where the dog was an honored guest, and the matter of a name was animatedly discussed. One of the men wanted to call
 him Governor That proposition was quick ly abandoned when a Pewaukee member said: For heavens sake don't do that; he
 might turn out as worthless as some gov ernors'
 "'What do you say to calling him Gen. eral? said town of Vernon man. "'There is the same objection to that as there was to his being called Governor, It seems to me- said the old man. "Arkansas proposed. Not by
 blank sight said John Carrier. If he is l given the name of state it shall be a union, not a rebel state.
 "We had a visitor from Company B. | Peter Bodette. He said Allow me to sug- l gest name. Call him Calamity "A little further discussion, and it was | agreed that that should be his name, and l from that day to this the Twenty-elght'h's l pet dog has been called Calamity Like | his mother, he became a large, awkward | good-natured serviceable animal He was | perfectly at home with any man in the | Twenty ty-eighth, and friendly with every l man in the brigade from the general com l manding to the kicking cook.
 "'Calamity' was more than an ornament | and plaything. We found him very use- | full during the balance of the war, partic- ularly when meat rations were short It | seemed to be as natural for Calamity to l catch pigs as it is for a water spaniel to | swim.
 "On a march our boys were supplied with | fresh pork through the energy, skill and | generosity of Calamity He had his pref | erence in the matter of breed The razor | back species were 'Calamity's special de- 1 light. This breed of swine ran wild in por- l tions of Arkansas Whenever we reached 1 place of timber Calamity would trot along the lln6 WINn d h1lOWlH6 lOoh anu d uo6 | laugh for the men, and then suddenly dart out into the woods. The next news we had 1 from Calamity was squeel from razor l back, and that was the signal of an out | burst from all the men who heard 1t. If | the game was not too old and ugly Calam- | fty' had comparatively little difficulty in l conducting it to the neighborhood of the marching line, when a glstening bayonet | was ready to give Calamity lift. If 1t 1 was large, ugly beast the squeal grew l less plain or remained stationary. In either l case unless the officers were unnecessarily | watchful you could see from one to dozen men drop out of the line and run in the | direction of the noise, and when they re- | joined us 1t was with a cut-up razor-back, l and Calamity very weary, but with the | same old glad smile.
 "He fought until the end of the war, and l grew more and more a favorite. When l news of the surrender of Lee to Grant 1 reached us the command was hilarious. | Calamity was foremost, In these demon- | strations. When he wearied of short, sharp l barks he sat up on his launches and | howled. I think of 'Calamitys' howls in these-times when certain leaders of certain l political parties sit on their launches and
 howl Calamity! Calamity
 
 "When orders came for us to return to | Wisconsin and be mustered out, there l seemed to be no one in the brigade glad | der than Calamity Those regiments that l did not belong to Wisconsin in our brigade
 were given farewell visit by the knowing | dog, and when we marched to the landing | Calamity was too full of high spirits to l indulge in raid on his favorite razor
 back. He was about the first member of | the regiment to get onto the steamer. | Whenever we stopped to wood or take on
 supplies passengers Calamity would | dodge off and visit the landing. The night 1 before we reached Cairo we stopped quite l a spell for wood. Calamity got off, but | did not return when the wooding had been | completed. There was panic among the
 men. Where is "Calamity?' ? We must | not go off and leave Calamity" The | captain of the boat was interviewed and in- l duced to wait certain length of time,