Kingsbury County independent. (DeSmet, Kingsbury County, S.D.) 1894-1929, 1909-06-25
Dog That Carries Mail.

From the BaltlIl0re Eefalu,
OF all the mai carriers Uncle Sam
has In this big country none is more
novel than a dog out in Dayton. Kan.
whose duty IL is 10 meet a passenger
train twice daily and take the heavy
mail sack to his masters store,
When the sharp whistle Of the train
is heard "Nep,'a big st. Bernard. gives
an excited bark n hurries to the
crossing. The mail clerk kicks the
leather bag out OF the a door and it
falls somewhere in h vicinity OF the
road. Nep at once goes TO the sack,
and. carefully taking it by the middle,
so that neither end will drag on the
ground, walks sedately to the store,
where he lays the sack down behind the
counter by the side of the wooden let
ter case, into which the mail is soon
distributed.
Day after day he performs this task,
ain or shine. The mail clerk watches
for him. and the people OF the COM
munity are as proud of him as they
would be of a bright child.
Nep is 4 years old, but is two feet.
seven inches i'm height, and weighs go
pounds. He has no difficulty in carry
ing the sack, though the mail is often
very heavy with the weekly papers
from the county seat. for his teeth are
strong and he has carried over 100
pounds as a test OF his strength.
He seems likely to perform the semi
official task for p1any years TO come,
and the people OF his community think
hat he is entitled to a salary for his
services.
The train men do not forget TO throw
off something nice for him to eat on
holidays. but. even though the gift is
a toothsome bit of game or other meat,
he never touches 1t until the mail Of
Uncle Sam is safe in the postofice.
-
With Master to the Last.
In a special dispatch to the Toronto
Globe, the thrilling story is told of the
tragis death of Sergeant Flood and his
leading dog, at Fort Churchill, where
they were frozen to death in the worst
storm that Winnipeg has experienced
for % years:
"Dr. Flood was one OF a party of three
VINO went out exploring for timber.
When they left the weather was fair
and everything looked favorable. They
had prepared a camp, but ound they
had dropped their grub box on the way
and were without food Laughingly the
fact was noticed by DR.. Flood who
thought it not far away and offered to
return for il. jocularly treating any
offer of assistance,
HE took the dogs back and as he
disappeared over the snow the last OF
him was seen until his lead body was
found by a m%ournful search party three
days later.
'While lie doubled back over tina
track a snowstorm, which was des-
tined to bury him, came up and he
lost the trail. over the bleak wilder
ness, miles away from any chance Of
succor, unless he could find his way
to the camp, he wandered until he
dropped from exhaustion. The search
party found that he had guided the
logs and when they i~nstinctively
their heads away and went further
into the wilds as the faithful leader
took the trail in the direction indi-
rated by his driver. That wonderful
instinct which has been noticed in
horses n dogs, who never seem to
lose their sense of direction, guided
them, and had he let them go they
would have taken him TO safety, but
he trusted to his intelligence in the
binding snow and persisted. Whenever
the trail left by him showed that the
dogs were given their heads, they
turned toward the ann and made for
1t, only TO be turned away into the
very way of destruction.
When the body was found 1t was
q pitiful sight. Flood lay in the snow
and his faithful leader lay alongside
of him. also frozen stiff. Faithful TO
the last, the dog had tried to keep
his masters body warm and had
persisted. The responsibility OF a lead
er OF a dog train is felt by that ami
NAL and when Flood dropped in his
tracks the other dogs bit themselves
free of the harness and each other
and sought safety, while the leader lay
down beside his master and with him
died in the snow"