Northern Wisconsin advertiser. [volume] (Wabeno, Wis.) 1898-1925, 1902-12-18
MEN, WOMEN AND CHILDREN
WEAR SOLDIERS UNIFORMS.
DOGS A GREAT MENACE
Children Are Frequently Killed by
the Brutes, Which Are Only
Kept in Subsection by the Lash
But They Are Most Useful
Nevertheless.


strange sights along that desolate
and backward coast line, writes 1. ,
McGrath in the Chicago News. One
Oh the strangest is the garb OF the
women. it is mistake 10 suppose
that the people there are clad in furs.
On the contrary, they never wear
these except in midwinter, and their
real preference If for soldiers coats
the red ones OF the British army.
Now that Tommy Atkins has been put
into Khaki the familiar red coat is
rather at a discount. Reserve stocks
OF these garments, lying idle in the
army storerooms, are auctioned from
time TO time and can be got for a
song. A medical mission ship, main
tanned by English philanthropists, car
ries on her work ot mercy along that
coast in summer and among other
things distributes clothing among the
destitute coast folk, OF whom there
are all too many.
These people never use any coin;
all their transactions, are in the form
OF barter, fish being exchanged for
everything they need 70 eat and wear.
When the fishing is bad they have to
90 without these necessaries. Then
1t is that the mission comes to their
aid. II does not pauperize them; it
requires every family to cut wood to
feed the steamer boilers in return for
grants OF clothing and food. The
latter is not usually given, being left
mainly to the government to provide,
but clothing is distributed, with a pru-
dent generosity. The soldiers coats
are most eagerly sought, being warm
and well made. Men and women both
wear them and declare them very COM
Portable. The first sight of re-
spectacle mother OF a family, with one
of these snowy articles adapted to her
portly figure is rather startling, but
as the visitors cruise father along the
incongruous aspect of the thing Is
lost sight Of, as nearly all the settlers
are thus CARRIED
Relocated men in the fishing boats,
relocated women in the cottages, red
coated and trousered children in all
directions. There is no element OF
humor in this, but the fiber of grim
tragedy. The testimony of mis-
sioners" and visitors is all alike as to
this. An Anglican cleric, who made
trip up the coast two years ago, re-
ported on his return that he had seen
children in several settlements run
ming about naked, and on investiga-
ton found that the parents had no
clothing to give them. His appeal to
his friends in England resulted in
large shipment of articles suited for
little folks but ordinary cloth wears
out so quickly that army cloth is
found to be the most durable and is
converted into garments for both the
boys and girls
OF course the mission gives it's
donation gratis to families without
male members, and in every case tries
To serve the needs OF the women and
children before supplying the men,
but 1t is unfortunately the case that
even with the contributions available
there are many cases of urgent import
which cannot be adequately relieved
Lack of bedding and coverlets is also
general and the misery OF the coast
is most AFFECT.
1t is a remarkable fact that while
virtually every resident of Labrador
has ben bitten by the savage dogs OF
that region there has never been a
case of hydrophobia there. This fact
is attested by Dr. Grenfell, the sup
erintendent of the English medical
mission there, who has now spent 10
years on the coast and treated over
10000 patients. He cannot explain
this singular circumstance. 1t may be
due to climatic conditions, but it is
more probable the result of the woltish
strain in the breed of the dogs. The
extraordinary part of it is that such
a condition should be found allied with
the most absolute savagery on the
part of the animals. They are the
fiercest of any brutes trained to be oil
service to mankind: they viii attack
anything they believe weaker thar
themselves, and they are only kept il
subiecuon by the uneesing use OF the
lash.
They are cross between the
wolves and the earlier Newfoundland
dogs brought there, and by this tins
almost all but the wolfish char
acteristics are eliminated, The eoas
folk find them Indispensable, yet live
in fear of them. No man ventures
abroad without his whip; every WON
an carries stout club; ii is death L
a child TO get among them. Only las
month the little son of the agent o
Hudson Bay Company's post at SAND
which inlet was attacked by thes'
brutes. Within a minute they had in
fiicted over 60 bites on the child an'
but for the devotion of pet retrieve
dog and the lads mother promptly
living TO the rescue he must have
been literally torn to pieces. He wa
taken to the hospital at lndtar
Harbor. where he is making quict
recovery. This was more fortunate
outcome than was the case at Cart
wright last year. A child wanderet
from home and when the distncteS
mother flew to whore pack OF angry
dogs were ravening she found nothins