The Black Hills union. [volume] (Rapid City, Pennington County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1889-1904, 1898-05-20
A LITTLE Dogs TALE.
CIVILIZATION AMONG TIE
PRAIRIE DOGS.
The Way to Live without Labor Is to
Place Others in Such "a Situation
That They Must Work for You john
S. Crosby's Advice.

l belong to the race OF prairie dogs,
and was born on Flat island, in Lake
Michigan. Dogs are the sole inhabi-
tants of the island, and now number
many thousands. Still there is ample
room for thousands more, and efforts
are being made to induce dogs from
other places to come and make the ISL
and their home.
The Flat islands are, perhaps, the
only community of dogs making just
claim to civilization. The older inhab-
itants can remember when they all
lived in the state of nature, little or
no advancement having been made in
the art of government.
In those days each dog was at liberty
to dig his hole wherever he could with
out disturbing any other dog, but he
had to dig his own hole and hustle to
get food for himself and his little dogs.
Later on some Of the more enterpris-
ing, progressive ard influential dogs
conceived the idea of appropriating all
the unoccupied land and exacting GER
tain artificial conditions upon which
1t should be used by those desiring to
dig holes. 1t is not known whether
the idea was original with them or
borrowed from man. who, ! observe,
have adopted the same idea. Certain it
is that its adoption wrought a great
change in the condition of the inhabi-
tants of Flat island.
Now there is no free land. The en-
tire island has now become the prop
erty Of few enterprsing dogs, some
of the more wealthy controlling whole
acres, partly occupied and partly un-
occupied.
When landless dog now wishes to
dig hole he must first get permission
from some land holding dog, which is
generally granted upon condition that
he shall dig certain number of holes,
or gather certain amount of food for
the land-holding dog. Some of the
more enterprising and public spirited
nave holes dug upon their land, which
they rent out to landless dogs for
stipulated annual service of some kind
or other. AS those acquainted with
the habits of our race are aware. we
like to live in villages, perhaps from
a sense of greater security, or the de-
sire for social advantages The re-
suit is greater demand for village
holes than for others, and correspond
lngly harder conditions for their ac-
qu1rement. In some populous villages
many families will be found crowded
into a single hole, where they suffer
from lack of room and air. the little
dogs often dying from suffocation.
There is really no necessity for this.
however, since there is always a plenty
or unoccupied land in such villages:
but the dogs that control it prefer to
hold 1t vacant until they can realize a
greater return for it's use than any dog
is yet willing or able to pay
The chief benefit arising from this
Improved and civilized system of land
holding is that it enables the land
holding dogs, those that hold more
than they need for their own personal
use, to live without the labor of dig
ging holes and seeking food. as heir
unclVlllzed ancestors were obliged to
do, and also gives leisure in which to
devise plans for the further civilizing
OF their fellow dogs. 1t is to that sys-
tenn and the leisure it affords some
dogs that l am indebted for the on
portunity l now enjoy of going abroad
and comparing the civilization Of dogs
with that of men.
To be sure, the great majority of
dogs, the landless, and those holding
only as much land as they use, have to
hustle somewhat harder for holes and
1000 than was necessary before the
introduction of the new system. but
they have become used to it, and some
OF them would hardly listen if Won
should tell them that one dog has as
much right to dig a hole as another.
10 long, at least, as there are unoc
cupied hole sites enough to acommo-
date whole sights of dogs.
JOHN S. CROSBY.