The Columbia herald. [volume] (Columbia, Tenn.) 18??-1935, 1906-06-08
SMART DOG.
Climbed a Ladder and Saved Sleeping
Family From Death.
Denver Republican,


to death early yesterday morning il
their home at $40 Eliot street. 4
paper shade caught fire, in turn ignit
} ing the paper in a waste basket and
some rags waiting TO be turned over
to rag man. JEFF, from his kennel
early discovered the flames. After
falling to arouse the family by bark
ing Justify outside the bedroom win
dow, he climbed a 15-foot ladder
jumped through a window, taking
screen and all, into Mr.. Mays room
and awakened his master by licking
his face and whining.
Knowing that almost his last act be
fore going to bed had been to tie
Jeff" and Nellie" "Jef's" mother,
in a wired enclosure near the barn,
Mr.. May instantly knew that the
dogs presence in the room meant that
something unusual had happened.
The dog whined and started for the
stairway leading down into the front
hall. Mr.. May, after awakening his
wife, followed. At the head of the
stairs, with the dog half way and wait
ing for him to catch up, he stopped.
The dog barked wildly.
Calling to his father-in-law, Frank
]. Wheeler, who was in an adjoining
room Mr. May landed at the foot of
the stairs in three bounds.
jeff barking wildly with delight,
ran instantly to the kitchen door, fol-
lowed by his master The door be-
tween the kitchen and the dining
THE whole thing was over so
quickly" said Mr.. Nav yesterday,
that we really did not give serious
consideration until this morning. On
lily a few dollars damage was done
and it was not until we got to think
| ing over it we realized that had the
fire gone on undiscovered for a little
while it would have gained such head
way that even had we discovered it
later we would have been unable to
cope with it.
1.-THE chances, to, of our discover
ing it ourselves were small. All the
| fire had to do to beat us was to burn
its way through the door leading into
] the dining room and then it would have
come on with roar, for the fiimsy
lace curtains would have acted as
kindling and the fire would have
caught up stairs and held us priso-
ners."
The gas jet shade of paper was sus-
nded about a jet that is left. burn
window. The shades only fastening
was a small wire that in some man
ner became unfastened, allowing the
shade to drop on the flame Ignited
and blazing it dangled a few seconds
room was closed The dog whined
and Mr. May pulled it open. The
room was full of smoke.
True to the blood of his fathers
Jeff is a son of Jack, who for years
was a pet of the Denver Fire Depart
ment, dog with a reputation for
climbing ladders and fighting fire that
was countrywide-th dog made
dash for the sack of burning rags. He
shook the rags wildly only stopping
when Mr. May emptied several pals of
water on them The blaze was just
getting good start, and had it had
it's own way for 10 or Is minutes
longer it would have been beyond con-
troll the house would have been de-
stroyed and the lives of the family
would have been endangered.
long enough to attract the attention
of jeff and Nellie-and then dropped |
into the basket of paper.
Then came Jeff's work. The dogs |
enclosure has the twelve-foot brick
wall of an outbuilding for one side; |
the remaining three sides are of woven
wire such as is used for poultry yards.
This wire extends half way up
framework to the roof of the barn.
The extension was only lately put on,
because jeff could get out of the en-
closure by mounting an ashpit and
making a standing jump of 10 feet.
Mr.. May is at loss to understand
how he made his escape from the en-
closure last night, unless he scaled
the twelve-foot wall of the outbuild-
ing, jumped to the ground in the alley
and made his way around the enclos-
ure and jumped over the fence into
the yard. While loath to believe that
he did this, Mr. May is unable to fig
ure out any other way.
Climbing ladder is second nature
for jeff. Four years ago his father,
Jack, was the best known dog in the {
West Jack was the property of for
NOR Chiaf Robprts lack never OK q,