Herald and news. [volume] (West Randolph, Vt.) 1878-1943, 1898-01-27
MY FRIEND CARLO.
- u ~
A STORY OF ANIMAL
SAGACITY.
NOTWITHSTANDING the fact tina
Observation-Disclosures OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES

IN dogs have been written OF so vol
uminously, venture to offer an abso-
lutely authentic sketch of one who's
transcendant merits while in life well
deserve such recognition.
To give a detailed account of this
noble creatures extraordinary doings
would fill large volume; therefore
will confne 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 a reservation on the
river Credit, eight miles from our farm,
dog, whom. in honor of a 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 tail no more than ten inches
long. That member had never been
tary popularity, as was amply proven by
the fact that many of Carlos progeny.
which. after awhile, became quite numer-
Gus in our neighborhood. were brought
forth with precisely similar tails-,t
very strange. and so far as my observa-
ton goes, quite unique circumstance.
| have known hundreds of dogs born
with only rudimentary tails, but never.
except in this instance. of any that
came into the world with one apparent
ly cut off in the middle
At first none of us thought much Of
Carlo; but it was not long before we
discovered his value, and to me he soon
became a constant companion, play
mate. protector and friend. Little by
little, as his good qualities were re-
vealed. we found that his sagacity was
wonderful and his courage and faith
fulness beyond all praise. Not only in
one role did he excel. but as watchdog,
hunter, retriever, cattle driver and
sheep herd he was perfection itself. He
feared no living thing, and would, on
OCCASION, tackle bear, wolf or lynx
as readily as a deer, fox or rabbit.
OF course he could not, unaided. kill
full-grown bear nor an adult wolf.
but would often harass and detain one
or the other until the pursuing hunter
got near enough to shoot it; but he did
once, after a terrific fight. kill large
lynx, an animal so formidable that not
one dog in a thousand will face it.
\ curious popularity of Carlos was
that although the game he was at the
moment chasing might never have been
sighted by the listener. any such,
thoroughly familiar with him, could al
ways tell of what kind it was merely bv
the dogs manner of baying, and also
whether the scent was fresh or stale.
He had one style of bark for deer, an
other for a bear. another for a wolf and
still another for fox. a wildcat, a rae
coon or what not.
He was the very best econ dog |
-vcr saw or heard of. and would kill
one of these mischievous creatures.
however large and fierce, in less than
five minutes after coming up with it.
The raccoon always throws itself upon
It's back when fighting. and. instead of
around. swapping at and
tearing the skin as ordinary dogs do.
Carlo would instantly seize it by the
throat and never let go until it was
dead. thus not damaging the pelt at ALL
Between the ages of IL and II years
coon 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 he
was running on hot scent, had caught
his quarry on the ground or had freed
It. In the latter case my comrade and
would build fire and chop down the
tree. whose top could scarcely crash to (
the earth before Carlo would have the |
room. Never once did he let one escape |
TO another tree.
Altogether. aside from the fact that |
heir skins were worth in the proper |
season so cents each. it was very neces-
sary to destroy these obnoxious though |
animals. as they wrought |
iad havoc among the green corn and
,ats and not infrequently carried off
young ducks and chickens. !