The morning Astorian. [volume] (Astoria, Oregon) 1899-1930, 1901-03-22
NOTED Dog IS DYING
SKATES" GREAT DANE, is
SLOWLY STARVING.
VIII Probably BE Killed Today
as Recovery Is Out OF the
Question.

When Skates" dies there will be
mourning among the members OF the
Bittner Company. And the tears that
viii b. shed will not be stage tears,
nor will the sorrow be feigned, at the
behest Of the press agent Of the com
Dany for The benefit of newspaper men
VINO happen o. b. In the vicinity. The
grief Will be- real and the mourning will
be- sincere. Skates" Is a dog with a
past. and interningled in the years
that have gone before are events that
nave made him known to the theatri-
cal fraternity the country over.
"Skates' Is a Great Dane Of the pur-
eBt breeding and his first appearance
On the bJardB was az an Uncle Toner"
when he was one Of the pack Of fierce.
bnying hounds that nightly chased the
fugitive Eliza across the Ice. At that
Tine he was the star member Of the
Dog cDn.lng ut " an Uncle Tom show
owned by Rusco and Swift PERSONAL
'y n belonged to genial, jolly "BlH'
Swift. one 0f the partners in the VEN
ture. All this was some fifteen years
ago Eventually Mr. Swift Joined the
Bittner Company and was in advance
until his death four years ago in As
pen Colorado.
A't-r the death Of his master 1t was
feared tha, the dog would not survive.
lie mourned and refused to eat until
Mr. Bittner arrived at the hotel. The
canine ana the theatrica! man were old
friends. and Mr. Blttner took charge Of
the dJg when the funeral service was
over. Since that time he has Travelled
all over the country with the company.
Nov he Is dying and probably II WIFI
l.la t.fas
with a bullet. For several months
Skates" has been afflicted with a tumor
nn his liver. Since coming 10 Astoria
two doctors have done what they could
Tor him. but apparently the ailment is
complicated with the senility Of old
age and the end is not far of. For
the past four weeks the animal h.
been slowly starving to death. Each
day ~ has grown weaker until 1t Is
an effort for him 10 walk. Hence the
decision VI Mr.. Bittner. up,sn the ad-
yle ~ he physicians, that it would
be better to kill him. rather than pro-
long the agony Of slow starvation.
When death does come, whether in
hictei by his friends or from natural
causes. Skates will have A funeral
beiittng his comradeship with human
companions A coffin will encase his
ruaciatei remains, and over the grave
will be a modest headstone marking the
grave. and inscribed with simple trib-
ute from those who loved him.
Skates was gifted with a rare de-
gree of intelligence, and instances are
many and varied in support Of the dec
laration. When the company played at
Fort Bend. Montana. the proprietor OF
the hotel refused TO ALLOW the dog in
the rooms Occupied by Mr.. and Mrs.
Bittner but insisted that ne spend the
night in the office Some time after
midnight the occupants of the hotel were
aroused by hearing Skates" barking
with a vIgor born Of desperation. The
hotel proprietor came out and declared
that Mr.. Bittner had brought the dog
upstairs against his orders. They locat-
I'd the direction from which the bark
ing came and following it up found an
inCipient blaze that would have proved
a holocaust but for the timely discovery
II was the old story Of a gas jet-even-
ing bree -swaying curtains-dangerous
blaze. and after it was eXtinguished Mr..
Bittner missed the dog. He asked the
hotel man where he had put him. In
my bed" was the reply, and thereafter
there were no more maps on a cold Of
fee floor
Before stricken with the fatal illness
Skates" was the constant companion
Of Mrs. Bittner, on two instances. at
La Grande, oregon, and at Victor, Colo
rldo, ill-advised youths OF the towns
made bold TO attempt advances, But
the dog was as effective a protector as
her husband with his considerable
avordupois, and despite her indignation
at the impertinences she found 1t diff
cult TO control a smile Of amusement
at the completeness of the routing a
dozen and one tales are told Of the
beasts sagacity. On one occasion when
the company was playing a date at
Aberdeen, Washington. Skates" was
left at the hotel He had never been
in the city before and when ne start
ed out to find the theater he displayed
an example of deductive reasoning. as
practiced by Sherlock Holmes. that
would have done credit to any animal.
He associated music with the play
house, probably because OF what Billy
Baxter called 'trembly music" that the
orchestra used to play when he was
pursuing the escaping slave girl. So
he started down the street for a lighted
resort from which tha ctrainS of r,,ucic