The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1907-08-09
MAY. THE IRISH TERRIER.

MAY, THE IRISH TERRIER.
Apropos Of the recent controversy
between DR. Long and the President
on animal nature, / want to relate,
said the old country woman, "a dog
incident that happened in our home"
1.-THE dog was an Irish terrier Of
marked intelligence, prize bearer of
prize bearing antecedents, and was
much beloved by my four brothers,
who, like all Irishmen, are fonder of
nothing than good days hunting, in
which May, as the terrier was named,
always accompanied them. They used
her in preference to pointer in the
bird season, and she could keep pace
with any hounds.
Zone winter, just before her pup
pies were born, they were so careful
Of her that they housed her in the
kitchen, night after night against the
4 express orders Of our father, who re-
fused to permit any dog within the
house. He did not discover her pres
ence, however, as she never parked
unnecessarily, until the night her pup
pies were BORN Then her new-moth-
er whining attracted him and he turn
ed her out on the doorstep in the mid
die of a bitter winter night. He did
not realize that in teaching the boys
lesson he was brutally Wounding
Mays fine dog nature. OF course, the
puppies succumbed to the cold, and
May cried long and piteously, as a
human mother might.
1T was many years before the same
condition required and this time faith
er, realizing his previous error, took
her into the house nightly himself
One night she was missed and several
days search failed to find her. The
boys were inconsolable and would
barter most anything they owned for
4 her recovery, but she was not forth
coming.
at was summer time and strawberry
season and one day a week after she
was missed, we were picking straw
berries on a high bed in the garden
when a sound attracted us, as we
thought, Of rats squealing in the ditch
under the strawberry beds. Sure
enough on exploring, there was q
large hole underneath the beds, but
somehow 1t was too large for rat
hole and not built like rabbit war
rem. SO we concluded it was a wea-
sells nest and set dog to ferret it
out He came out looking foolish
and wagging his tail, to the great dis
gust Of the boys. Oh, if only May
were here, said one Of them.
Let's call and whistle for her once
more another suggested, she may
have Joined in with some sheep killing
dogs, and be now in the neighborhood
and repentant.
NO. said mother wisely May
never would be sheep killer. I am
convinced she went off to the woods
somewhere to have her puppies in
peace
'Pshaw,' said father deprecatingly
'how could dog remember what oc-
cured years ago?'
Nevertheless" said the boys, "let's
whistle and call once more.
''By this time we had almost for
gotten the hole under the beds, and
turned our faces from it to the lower
land. At the second or third call,
mother, who was nearest the hole,
heard a rustic among the sally switch
es that dropped from the bank and
half covered it. She turned, and there
at her feet, lay May, a pup in her
mouth, her chin resting between her
two front paws, and a look Of humili-
ty and expectation about her. Need
les to say her welcome was joyous,
and when she discovered that her pup
was taken and treated carefully, she
made several trips to and from the
hole, carrying each time diminutive
doggie.
"On examination the hole prived to
be carefully constructed and lined
with hay, to procure which she had to
travel at least zoo yards to and from
the haggart.
1.-THE manner Of Mays death several
years later, at the end of good span
OF life for dog was sure proof of
her devotion and intelligence. 1t was
winter time and the fields and hedges
we're abundantly covered with a
thick black frost. With the midday
a storm had come up from the At
lantic at whose shore we lived, and
weak-rooted trees and dead branches
went down before it. This, however
SO far from deterring the brothers.
added zest to their impulse to CO. gun
in hand, after the helpless brides
whose half-frozen, starved bodies
make good targets for the sportsman
A strange thing that sporting in
stinct!
"Iay was by this time entirely q
house dog, with rheum in her eyes
and old age and decay upon her. New
ertheless, the boys in starting off on 6
hunting expedition had to be careful
not to come attired for the field before
her vision, for dim as her eyes now
were she could always recognize the
garments of sport, and the taking OF
the gun from among the kitchen raft
ers was yet signal for the joyous
sarl land caper,