The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1909-08-07
DOG DAYS,
ARE HERE
Superstition That Star is Cause o,
Rabies is an Ancient
Hoax.

It's dog days.
And these two words stand for one
OF the biggest hoaxes ever sprung ON
the world.
Few persons who cal this hot
weather dog days really know how
the term started The old Greeks.
whose pet Paris poodles weren't as
good natured as ours, paid more at
tention to- stars than they did to span
iels.
SO let astronomy go to the dogs
when they called the brightest star
m the sky the dog star. It's other
name is Sirius. The Greeks preferred
to call 1t the dog-star because the
constellation that Sirius belonged to
looked on them like ore of Jupiter's
pet CANNES running a Marathon all
over Mount Olympus after a piece Of
beef. Steak was high in those days,
too.
This bright bowwow star rises with
the sun over the horizon in August
so we call this time of year dog days.
Dog stars would be better.
Mad dogs cause more trouble in hot
weather than in winter, and in some
remarkable way people got to believe
that the dog-star really made dogs go
mad
AS soon as we tear the July leaf off
our calendars and August stares at US,
the face of the dog rises up like a
mfnd-ghost. Then we begin to watch
every restless dog that gets in our
way, even II he is only chasing the
butchers wagon with fond but vain
| hope.
All the dog wants is his dinner and
yet we think he wants to bite some
body.
Seriously though, there are few
things the readers of the newspapers
ought to remember. There's differ
ence in mad dog and a mad Cog
scare, such as we hear about so much.
Rabies. the disease that makes dogs
go mad. is the least understood of ami
NAL complaints. The disease hydropho-
bia, which is human rabies, suggests
another hoax. 1t comes from two
Greek words that mean afraid OF
water" Mad dogs are supposed to fear
water when in reality 1t is the glitter
of water that they fear; it hurts their
eyes. which are always affected by
rabies. For the same reason they hide
in dark corners and under the shed
to escape the glare of day,
Another dog day hoax is the mad
stone. That revered geological speci'
men, generally owned by the Indian
doctor or herb dealer in the nexi
county, once was supposed to be a
sure thing cure for hydrophobia. But
the experts tell US that it does nc
more good than piece of blottine
paper.
Muzzles are still another hoax. DR.
G. W. Fair, the noted American au
thority on disease of animals, says
wire muzzles now in use will not pro
tect against a mad dogs bite. A fur
ious dog can snap and bite through
the wire, he declares. He recommends
tying up restless dogs.
Pasteur Treatment Is Attacked.
Even now the Pasteur treatment
which Is supposed to have saved SC
many lives, is being attacked by La
taund, the great French authority, and
doctors in this country. They say
that everybody who has been cured
by the Pasteur treatment would have
recovered anyway. So they argue
what's the use to take the cure.
Deaths In Chicago are more frequent
. from hydrophobia thar in any Other
city OF Europe or America.
In Europe there is strict supervisor
over dogs. The dog-catchers over
there are highly respected individuals
and the chief dog-catcher in Euro
mean town wears a badge twice as
: big as the chief of police.
He has whole force of deputy dog
, catchers. A dog over there must be
! have himself or the next morning ms
master will whistle and they say
! DOG gone