The Colfax chronicle. [volume] (Colfax, Grant Parish, La.) 1877-1981, 1899-07-22
A LIVING SOUVENIR.
Service ON Cuban Bat
tlefields.

HE is a living souvenir of the bat
tie of San Juan HILL" said Thomas Bis
ket, druggist of Norwich, Conn.,, as
he pointed to a large Newfoundland
dog, which stood beside him and affec-
! tionately licked his hand.
HE belonged to Gen. Linares, who
was in command of the Spanish forces
at Santiago at the outbreak of the war
with this country. Few dogs have had
such experience as this fine fellow and
will tell you his story"
Anyone would have been attracted by
the appearance of the handsome New
foundland, but nobody would have sus-
pected that the dog had seen active
service on field of battle.
Mr., Bisket continues:
HE is called Leon. Leon was born in
Barcelona, Spain, from which place Gen.
Linares brought him to Cuba as pup.
The general had warm place in his
heart for good dog, and when he was
ordered to the Antilles he determined to
obtain faithful canine companion.
"Gen. Linares placed high value on
the little Newfoundland pup, and glad
ly took him along on the ship which
carried him and his men to Cuba. Leon
became great pet with the Spanish
soldiers, because he was genuine
Spaniard himself and therefore took
precedence of all Cuban-bred dogs.
Wherever Gen. Linares went Leon went
too, and in time he came to be looked
upon as an indispensable adjunct to the
army, and during the eight years he
was in Cuba the dog saw any amount
of actual fighting between the Cuban
and Spanish troops.
Sat last came the Spanish-American
war, when Gen. Linares was in COM
mand of the troops in the province
of Santiago. The dog, then grown to
be a large and handsome fellow, was
with his master at the front, and, like
the seasoned veteran that he was, he
stood on San Juan hill while bullets
whistled and shells burst around him.
The remarkable part of it is that the
dog seemed to bear charmed life, for
while Gen. Linares was severely wound
ed Leon escaped without scratch.
'When the Spanish commander was
borne off the field on a litter the faith
full dog trotted alongside, whining pite-
ously, now and then casting wistful
glances at his suffering master and once
or twice tenderly licking his out
stretched hand. While the general was
in the field hospital Leon never tired
of watching him. 1t was impossible for
anyone to approach the wounded man
without being challenged by the dog,
who seemed clearly to understand what
had happened and to be eagerly await
ing his masters recovery.
when in August last Gen. Linares
was ordered to return to Spain an in
valid on board the ship Leo XIII. he
presented the dog to Arutro Gomez,
who is nephew of the famous Cuban
leader, with request that the animal
be treated well and not allowed to fall
into bad hands. Gomez wanted to pay
a compliment to Capt. Fadgo, of the
Second United States volunteers, and
in order to do so gave him the dog.
my cousin, II. f. Bisket, was chief
engineer of the Reina de los Angeles, a !
supply boat under the stars and stripes
in Cuban waters, and he in turn re-
ceived the dog as gift from Capt. |
Fadgo. Engineer Bisket brought the |
dog to Norwich and gave him to me.
He has had many masters, but he seems
to like the American one as well as any.
He also takes kindly to our northern
for, strangely enough, al !
though he had lived for eight years in
Cuba and the temperature there was
l04 degrees in the shade when he left +
Tor the United States, he has not shown
any sign of suffering during the coolest
lays we had in Norwich this winter.
You should have seen him, however,
when the first snow fell. He did not
know what to make of it. He squatted
IN the ground to his launches, drew the
NOW up to him between his big paws
md rubbed it as if he would thorough
y sample it and find out what this
trange substance was. Snow was
leep mystery to the dog that had
'assed all its life in the tropics. And
he serious, puzzled expression in his
intelligent eyes while he investigated
vas something more droll than can
describe. IN. Y. Herald.
l