The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1903-11-15
THE DOCTORS DOG.
An Affecting Tale of n Canine Mar
tyr to Duty.
From the Chicago News.


From the Chicago News.
Il suppose you are going to try to
get out for a little shooting this fall?"
said the corporation attorney. ''They
tell me the grouse are biting hard"
I'D like to-" replied the doctor, "but
l don't know who would take care
OF my patients for me while 1 was
gone"
81 should think you could give 'ern
something that would keep 'em sick
for couple of weeks" said the cor
poration attorney. Anyway. I'm go
ing. Don't know anybody who's got
a good dog. do your"
II had one" said the doctor. I'D
have been glad to let you take him.
He was the best pointer 1 ever saw
or heard of. l told you about that dog
and the way 1 lost him, didn't l."
Couldn't say" replied the corpora
ton attorney. My memory isn't what
1t used to be. If it had been poor
dog you said you owned 1 might have
remembered it, but those preternatural-
~ intelligent animals are too common"
Il didn't say this dog was prefer
naturally intelligent" said the doctor.
Il merely said that he was the best
l ever saw. If he had been more
sagacious and less a slave to duty
| might have owned him yet. No. he
knew his work-knew it we'll and did
vt conscientiously, but that's all I
could say for him. Beyond that he
hadn't a lick of sense. His name was
spot and his color was liver and white.
If l had to name him again d call
him Casabiance."
Victim of an explosion
OF course not. No, I'd been shooting
prairie chickens up in Wisconsin with
a little party and l had made up a
particularly good bag. Sixteen braces
to single gun in a day isn't bad,
Ell? Well, they were thick that year.
1t wasn't much credit to Spot, find
ing, because you couldn't miss find
ing 'em anywhere. And they We're so
blamed tame that after he made a
point I'd have to wait ten minutes
or SO for them to rise or else throw
clods at them. And if bird is strong
on the wing you can't throw clods and
shoot very successfully at the same
time. If it hadn't been for that I'd
nave bagged quite a few more.
Anyway 1 had about as many as
L could carry and 1 wearied of the
carnage, so when 1 saw a thrashing
machine at work in field not far off
l walked over the stubble TO have a
look at 1t. l hadn't seen a thrash
ing machine since l was a boy. I
stood close by the stacks and 1 no.
ticed Spot began to range off, but l
was interested in the work. The bundle
cutter was a reckless man with his
knife, and I was wondering how long
it would be before he slashed a few
fingers from the fellow with the feeder
and wishing l had someone with me
so that 1 could take a bet on it. At
last the fellow did lose a finger, so
my curiosity being satisfied, 1 turned
away and whistled for the dog, but
to my surprise he didn't repond. !
whistled myself dry, but still he didn't
come. I looked all around for him,
but couldn't see him, so at last 1 con-
cluded he had gone home and started
for home myself"
IF you are going to tell me that he
fell into the thrashing machine and re-
appeared al breakfast the next morning
in the form of sausage 1 tell you cand-
idly I'm not going to believe it," OBJ
served the corporation attorney.
Nothing of the sort" replied the
doctor. when 1 got home he wasn't
there, and although l inquired every
where and offered a large reward
didn't hear of him again until the
following winter, when l was at the
same place on a hunt. One morning
the hired man of the farm where
was boarding came in from feeding
TIC oIOCh III d SldlS Ol great eAClIe-
ment. L guess I've found your dog
DOCTOR he said, breathlessly. Come
on out and look at him.
Il went, and what do you think ]
saw? Right by the scattered remains
of straw stack. in the exact spot
where the trashing had been, was the
bare skeleton of poor Spot at point
few feet away was another skele-
ton, that of a prairie chicken. The
hired man told me that he had I'M
covered them both from the straw ex-
actly as they were.
''The noble but mistaken creature
had discovered the chicken in the lee
of the straw pile on that Inflated day
and had stood at his post a martyr to
duty while the straw drifted over on
him from the carrier. Thick and fast
came the deadly shower. but he finch
ed not. 1t reached his sides and buried
the hypnotized bird, but he never whis-
pered. Now his nose was covered and
still he waited for me to come and
shoot. The weight of the accumulated
straw snapped off some inches of his
rigidly extended tail (as was discov-
cred from the skeleton), but he never
tried to dig out. He had one idea be-
fore him-that of duty-and for duty's
sake he persisted. You may talk about
the sentry of Herculaneum, you may
talk about Casabianca, you may
talk"
II might if you'd ever give me a
chance" said the corporation attorney