The Manitowoc pilot. [volume] (Manitowoc, Wis.) 1859-1932, 1899-06-22
A LIVING SOUVENIR.
Newfoundland Dog That saw Active
Service on Cuban Hat
ticficIuS.

tie OF San Juan Hill" said Thomas Bis
ket, druggist of Norwich, Conn, as
ne pointed TO a large Newfoundland
dog, which stood beside him and alice
| 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., Biskat continued
He is called Leon. Leon was born in
Barcelona, Spain, from whichplace Gen.
Linares brought him to Cuba as pup.
The general had a warm place in his
heart for a 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
~ took him along On the ship which
carried him and his men to Cuba. Leon
| became great pet with the Spanish
soldiers, because ne was a 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.
AT last came the Spanish-American
war, when Gen. Linares was in COM
uland 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 a charmed life, for
while Gen. Lnares 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 ard to be eagerly await
| ing his masters recovery.
when III August last Gen. Linares
was ordered to return to Spain an in
| valid on board the ship Leo NH. he
| presented the dog to Arutro Gomez,
| who is a 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
compliment to Capt. Fadgo, of the
Second United States volunteers, and
in order to do so gave him the dog.
MY cousin, Il. +. Bisket, was chief
engineer of the Reina de los Angeles a
supply boat under the stars and stripes
! Ill JUDAH NsltlS. anu lit III bui II 4
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
climate, for, strangely enough, al
though he had lived for eight years in
| Cuba and the temperature there was
| 104 degrees in the shade when he left
| for the United States, he has not shown
| any sign of suffering during the coolest
| days 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
I on the ground to his launches, drew the
| snow up to him between his big paws
and rubbed it as if he would thorough
! ly sample it and find out what this
strange substance was. Snow was a
deep mystery TO the dog that had
passed all it's life in the tropics, And
| the serious, puzzled expression in his
intelligent eyes while he investigated
was something more droll than / can
describe. IN. y. Herald.