Waterbury Democrat., 1902-12-24
ODD STORIES OF DUMB ANIMALS
Relating How They Unwittingly In
 jured Their Owners.


 Relating How They Unwittingly In
 jured Their Owners.
 A Belfast woman named Watkins was suspected of having stolen and hidden in h CT house quantity of jew |elry valued at G2O0. Detectives. called and made thorough search, but failed to find the missing property.
 Just as they were leaving the last room, having given up their task in despair, a cat which had been sitting with her kittens in a basket in the corner got up, stretched hefsef and mewed. One of the officers turned back, looked into the basket and there discovered the jewelry, hidden in the hay which formed the cats bed. The eats owner is now expiating her crime in jail
 Another curious case of an animal |unwittingly delivering it's master up to justice comes from Wednesbury. An ironworker of that town was cruel enough to throw his dog down a dis used coal pit sixty feet deep. The poor creature's moans were heard by pass ,ersby, and one them named William Jeavons pluckily went down and res Icued the unfortunate beast, which was badly injured. It was taken to the police station and we'll looked after, and shortly recovered. But, as it was not known ito whom it belonged, no Isteps could be taken to punish the per son responsible for the outrage.
 A week or two later the dog was ac- icompanying one of tho policemen through the streets, when it suddenly ran into a house and began to play with the children. The officer entered, and the master of the house confessed that the q og belonged to him, and that he had thrown it q own the pit. He was at once arrested and very heavily fined for his brutal conduct. # D.
 A very peculiar case was recently re- corded Of such a harmless creature as Ia COW inflicting very serious loss upon It's owner. A farmer of lanark coun- ty, near Ottawa, in Canada, had G29 Ill notes of the Bank of Ottawa. These he placed in a pocket of his coat, which he hung on fence while he worked. When he anne back he found that the wind had blown his coat to the ground the notes had fallen out and COW was quietly chewing up the last of. them.
 A hawker was recently before the magistrates at Nottingham on a charge of poaching. The keepers had sus- pected him for long time, but invar- iably failed to catch him. On this occasion, however, they had secured his dog, which was brought into court. The moment the poor faithful beast saw it's master it sprang out of the arms of the policeman and rushed toward him. The evidence was held to be complete and the man was fined. : A most curious case of involuntary damage done of an animal comes from Worcestershire. During a heavy thunderstorm last August q valuable horse got terribly frightened and, gal loping up from the field toward the farm, got wedged ill it's blind panic between wire fence and a barn con- taining quantity of hay and valua- ble agricultural implements. Light ming struck the fence, and, passing through the body of the horse, killed it, afterward setting fire to the barn, which burned until it was completely gutted and all it's contents destroyed beyond the possibility of recognition.
 Perhaps the most utter ruin ever in iicted upon human beings by domestic animals was in Patagonia four or five years ago. A number of Scotch croft CTS emigrated to north Pata gonia and began sheep farming, at which they were very successful. They brought out with them several valuable collies, and these for time did good work.
 But one winter one of these farmers died suddenly. His dogs, left without food, began to devour the sheep. They ran away, took to the hills and became the progenitors of 8 race of wild dogs which come down in packs and kill the sheep by hundreds.
 So serious have matters become that a bounty of $1O head is offered for these wild collies. If they are not soon exterminated, 1t is said that the settlement must be given up, owing to the ravages of these animals.-Lo1f don Answers. ..