The daily morning journal and courier., 1904-02-20
WILD DOGS HUNT DEER

Pack of Fierce Ours to be Exterminated
 Plainville. Feb. 1s-Pursued and har- rassed by wild dogs of White Oak and
 Rattlesnake Mountains. helpless deer
 has been rescued by two Plainville
 wood-choppers. Owing to the severe
 winter the deer had difficulty in getting
 anything to eat, and when the men saw it it was lean and weak. The wild dogs of the mountains that have been de- spelling the farms in the town of Plain
 vile, killing and devouring turkeys and
 chickens and attacking cattle. would have made short work of the timid crea- ture had help not been near. Various parts of the machinery of the law in
 this state have been set in motion for the protection of this deer.
 Albert Hart is a wood-chopper and twoo his helpers are James Hurley and
 Charles Sames. They live about two
 and a half miles from the village of
 Plainville. Hurley and Sames drove the dogs away from the deer, placed the l frightened animal on the logboat and drew it to Hart's barn, which is close to his house. Hurley notified Peter J. Pri- or, the first selectman of Plainville. about the deer. Mir. Prior notified John
 Foote. deputy sheriff and game warden of this county. and he in turn notified E. Hart Geer, member of the fish and
 game commission.
 The wood-choppers have cleared sev- enty-six acres of the one thousand in
 White Oak Mountail., which is about four miles west of New Britain. Be- tween White Oak and the Rattlesnake
 Mountains there is a valley and the
 Rattlesnake range extends to within a
 mile of Farmington. The wild dogs di- vide their time between the two and be- cause of their efforts to get the deer the
 packs are likely to be exterminated. The farmers have missed a number of domestic animals that have been de- voured by the dogs. The selectmen of Plainville paid over twenty-two dollars to Robert Graham a few days ago for the chickens and turkeys that the dogs had killed for him, and before the cold weather set in the cattle in the fields were attacked by the dogs. But the fate of the dogs was not sealed until they went after the deer and now not
 only the seIectmen, the game warden
 and the game commissioners are aroused, but a posse of citizens is going
 out on dog hunt and 1t is intended to
 rid the locality of the beasts.
 The deer is quite tame and seems to enjoy the attention it now receives. Whether it will be set free by the off, cials or permitted to remain in MT.
 Hart's barn the rest of the winter,
 where there is plenty of corn and oats
 and sweet cakes furnished from time to time by MT. Hart's little girl, will be de- cided by the state authorities in a few days.
 Meanwhile the efforts to get rid of the dogs will go9o How long the wild dogs have roamed the mountains is not known. The wood choppers say they have seen them for two years, and they saw them often last winter Where they came from is a mystery. Plain- vile people believe they came from New
 Britain and Bristol and took to the
 mountains, not having any homes. As
 many as fifteen have been seen in a
 pack. MT. Hurley said he thought the
 dogs were foxhouilds.
 Farmers have been much worried as to the safety of their stock on account of the dogs, and it was said yesterday that steps would be taken at once to or
 ganize a posse for wild dog hunt