The Opelousas courier., 1902-04-05
, r was a Newfoundland dog,
born Of reputable parents at
Back Arm and decently bred

ASSN
in Rudy Cove, which is on
the northeast coast. He had black
hair, short, straight and wiry,-the
curly-haired breed has failed on the
island,-and broad, ample shoulders
which his forbears had transmitted 10
him from generations Of hauling
wood.
He was heavy, awkward and ugly,
resembling somewhat a great draft
horse. But he pulled with a will.
Tended for himself, and within the
knowledge Of men had never stolen
a fish; SO he had a high place in the
hearts of all the people of the Cove,
and a safe one in their estimation.
Skipper! Skipper! Here, BY"
The ringing call, in the voice Of
young Billy Topsail, his master, a
isherman's son, never failed to bring
the dog from the kitchen with an
eager rush, when the % lay deep
on the rocks and all the paths Of the
wilderness were ready for the sled.
He stood stock-still for the harness,
and at the first Hi, by! Gee up,
there!" he bounded away with a
wagging tail and a glad bark. It was
as If nothing pleased him SO much on
q frosty morning as the prospect Of a
hard days work.
If the call came In summertime
when the Skipper vas doing in the
cool shadow of a fake,-a platform
Of boughs for drying fsh,-he
scramled to his feet, took his clog in
/ his mouth and ran, all a-quiver for
what might come, to where young
Billy waited. Gin Newfoundland the
law requires that all dogs shall be
| clogged as a %precaution against their
killing sheep and goats which run
wild. The clog is In the form Of q
billet of wood, weighing at least
| seven and a half pounds, and tied to
the dogs neck.) If the clog were
taken of,-as it was almost sure to
belt meant sport in the water.
Then the Skipper would paw the
ground and whine until the stick was
flung out for him. But best of all he
loved to dive for stones.
At the peep of many a day, too. he
went out in the punt to the fishing
grounds with Billy Topsail, and there
kept the lad good company all the
day long. 1t vas because he sat on
the little cuddy in the bow, as If
keeping a lookout ahead, that be was
called the Skipper.
"Sure, tits a clever dog, that" was
Billy's boast. HE would save life
that dog would"
This was proved beyond doubt when
little Isaiah Tommy Goodman toddled
over the Wharfhead, where he had been
playing with a squid. Isaiah Tommy
was four years old, and would sure
" have been drowned had not the Skip
per strolled down the wharf just at
that moment.
The Skipper was obedient to the
Instinct of all Newfoundland dogs to
drag the sons OF men from the water.
He plunged ii and caught Isaiah Tom
my by the collar of his pinafore. Still
following his instinct, he kept the
child's head above water with power
full strokes Of his fore paws while he
toWed him to shore. Then the outcry
which Isaiah Tommy Immediately set
up brought his mother to complete
the rescue.
For this deed the Skipper was petted
q day and q half, and fed with fried
caplin and salt pork, to his evident
qualification. No doubt he was per-
that he had acted worthily.
However that be, he continued In
merry moods. in afectionate behavior,
In honesty-although the fish were
then drying on the fakes, all ex-
posed. and he carried his clog like a
hero.
Skipper" Billy Topsail would ejac-
uiate. you do be a clever dog!m
One day in the fall of the year, when
high winds spring suddenly from the
land, Billy Topsail was fishing from
punt, the Never Give Up, over
the shadows Of Molly's Head. It was
fish weather" as the Rudy Cove
men say-gray. cold and misty. The
aarbor entrance lay two miles to the
southwest. The bluffs which marked
t Were hardly discernible, for the mist
hung thick off the shore. Four punts
md q skif were bobbing half a mile
farther out to sea, their crews fishing
with hook and line over the side.
Thicker weather threatened, and the
lay was near spent.
lis time to be OF home, by" said
Billy to the dog. "Tis getting thick
the sou'west.'
Tue Skipper stretched himself and
WaRged his tail. He had no word to
say, but Billy, who, like all fishermen
% remote places, had formed the habit
talking to himself. supplied the
Ills that, Billy. by said he. @The
ount's as much as one hand ian man
age in a fair wind. An it's a dead beat |
% the harbor now" +,
Then Billy said a word for himself. j
Wen put in for ballast. The punt's /
light for q gale" b
He sculled the punt to the little i
soye BY the Head, and there loaded her j
with rocks. Her sails. mainsail and s
siny jib were spread. and she was i
headed for Grassy Island, on the first
eg OF her beat into the wind. BY this :
Tine the other two punts were under I
way. and the sails of the skif were /
Huttering as her crew prepared to i
oeat home for the night. The Never /
Give Up was ahead of the feet, and !
aeid her lead IN cach xira fo.hf- =