The Yale expositor. (Yale, St. Clair County, Mich.) 1894-current, 1904-04-08

have been poisoned.
Now, m We had been wise we should
have remained quiet 4 mere smat-
tcriug OF law. which was all we POS
spsscd. Is dangerous knowledge Tor a
man TO act on, and Is pretty sure TO
get him into trouble. We knew that
we had n right 90 Elll a dog attack.
ing our nocS. and that We could legal
~ collect double damages from the
dogs owner; and as we thought we
had good evidence that these dogs
were the trnnsgrcssors. we went inn
mcdiately TO Mcl'adden and demanded
damages FOR the seven lgMOs aud two
sheep killed.
McFadden threatened us with his
AK. and his wife. declaring that she
would scIld Us. put the kettle on a hot
fire They we're very angry over the
loss Of the two dogs. particularly of
the wooGchuck dog. which Mrs. Nc
Faddcn fcclugiy asserted had kept
the family I'm fresh meat all summer.
Instead Of obtaining damages from
MCFadden FOR our sheep and lambs.
hc sued Us FOR poisoning his two dogs:
ana, unfortunately FOR us. we had sup
piled him with all the evidence he
needed. When nt last tho case came
to trial we found the law Tar different
from what we had supposed II 10 be.
The following POINTS came out.
First. the fact that these two dogs
came mp and ate OF the dead sheep
did not prove that they had Killed the
sheep.
Second. as Aunt Deborah was our
hired housekeeper. we were rs much
responsible Tor her act rs IL we had
done the deed ourselves.
Third, although we had n legal right
to kin dogs molesting our sheep. we
had no right to poison them. and the
proved fact of our having "lald out
poison" for them subjected us 20 a
fine Of $50 and also to payment FOR
the dogs. which were to be worth 50
each,
Fourth. glass. although not poison In
lis ordinary 10. m. was held 10 be poi
son to all intcnts and purposes when
pounded 20 a powder and put into
meat Tor dogs TO eat.
Finally. as We went homo from the
trial. the victorious McFadLen drove
behind us and roviled Us.
Our own modification was slight.
however. compared with that OF Aunt
Deb. when the results OF her dog
physic were made known 10 her. l
really thought FOR n time she would
fall sick Of her indignation. and we
had some difficulty I'm preventing her
from visiting the McFaddcns In per.
son. Aunt Dcb's exploit cost us ex
actly 500. in fines. price OF dogs and
costs. but our lambs were not modest
ed again that season. That was our
one crumb OF comfort. FOR there re-
manned not the slightest doubt that the
two poisoned dogs were the offenders.
The fine FOR poisoning was for expos
ing poison which other animals. or
possibly human beings. might partake
OF rather than as a punishment for
this particular mode OF killing dogs.
In law Il is far less criminal Of
Tense 20 poison dog than TO poison a
sheep. a COW or n horse. For horse
poisoning. indeed. the culprit. IN Mas
sachusetts, may be sent 10 prison for
five years. and In Maine for four years.
In the next summer the sheep OF an
other nelghbor named Fotherly came
into our Geld, where potatoes and peas
were planted. They partook heartily
OF the green peas. and not only OF
them. but OF Paris green. which had
been sprlnkled on the potatoes TO Kill
potato bugs. Two or three OF the sheep
died; and mindful OF the McFadden
triumph. this ill-disposed neighbor
prosecuted US promptly for exposing
poison. and declared that he would
Gland" us In Thomaston iai, for II.
But this case went against Neighhor
Fotherly. In addition 20 the costs. he
had % settle with us for the peas no
our own Ggurcs, and also to pay dam
ages Tor malicious prosecution. be-
cause OF his threatening publicly be-
fore trial what he would DO with us.
Ilc suffered 70 the amount OF $50
for In this case Il was held that the pol
son was lawfully used. So II is very
nice question when a man may law
fully expose poison. u those sheep
had come into the field through the
least neglect on our part. the result
might have bee. more greeablc 60
Fothcrly.
The year following our sad legal con.
test with McFadden lambs disappeared
mystcrlously week after week from
our pasture. At first we suspected
humgn thieves. as no trace Of wool or
bones could be discovered; bat boy
whom we had employed O. watch re-
Ported that a large brown and white
foxhound had leaped The wall. seized
lamb and jumped out with Il. oil In
less than haf n minute lie identi-
fed the hound as the property OF one
CHECKER. n poor neighbor living lalf
mile away.
The hound was the mother 81 Eve
puppies. aud could obtain nothing. or
next TO nothing 20 cat at home. II
was doubtless q case OF dire necessity