The sun., 1909-02-21
NIKE, AN ENGINE HOUSE DOG
THE CAPTAINS LITTLE GIRL
TELLS ABOUT HIM.
He Vas an Al Fireman. but MIsJudgment
Cost Him Ills 4fe-He Sang and Let
Mabel the Cat and the Monkey Mack
Plague Him. and-but Hear Lucy Fox,

Cost Him Ills I4fe-He Sang and Let
Mabel the Cat and the Monkey Mack
Plague Film, and-but Hear Lucy Fox!
This Is an interview with Lucy Fox.
the very small daughter Of Capt. George
j. Fox Of Engine 2i. regarding the death
Of Mike, variously known as singer and
fighter-a Dalmatian dog, spotted black
and white. who was mascot OF Engine 2i
and met his death on Friday afternoon
while responding TO an alarm at Forty
seventh street and Second avenue.
Mike was in the house Of Truck 2 at
Lexington and Fiftieth street when the
gong sounded. Mike got out in front.
as was his habit. When no came to Sec
ond avenue no paused to see which way
tho horses were going to turn. They went
Just the way he had not counted on. and
Mike, as he tried to turn to join them,
slipped on the greasy pavement and went
under the wheels Of the truck. The driver
stopped the truck while they picked up
Mixes body and took it aboard. Yester-
day the body was in the house Of Truck 2
waiting for the men Of Engine 81 to come
and get (which they did before night
came on.
Miss Lucy Fox Is a person OF IL years.
and has long black hair and brown eyes.
In her hair are pink bows. She had Mack,
the monkey mascot Of Engine 2l. in her
arms while she was telling the story. and
Mabel. the cat mascot Of the engine. was
prowhng about her feet. Apropos Of
Mabel. it may he said that his name is Of
Lucy Fox's choosing and never would
have been thought Of had the men Of the
company had their way-which they do
not wish to have when Lucy is around.
The men in the house called Mike the
barytone-that means some sort Of singer
Lucy explained, because when anybody
in the house played harmonica or whis
tied Mike would ait up on his hind legs
and would sing He really sang awfully
well-for dog. OF course-but the men in
the house would laugh at him. But that
didn't make any difference with Mike
hs just sat up on his hind legs and sang
Just the same, and really you ought to
have heard him sing!
The men used to play and sing just
10 keep Mike going-they seemed to think
II was a 'oke: but / didn't or course
papa made me 90 home early. but used
10 stay for a while some nights. and they
would keep Mike singing and would
laugh at him. didn't think IL was nice at
ell, though Of course the men in the house
are awfully nice and like them awfully
well.
Mike came to the house about-iet me
see--it must have been two years ago
Some one Of the firemen brought him
oh -h,,t
be was only puppy, Mike was then. and
we didn't pay much attention to him.
But you ought to see him grow! He got
awfully large before we knew it and used
10 chase all over the neighborhood-tha
i. he used to go al! around; didn't mean
10 use slang-that wouldn look good
IN the paper would 1t?
: : I'm never forget the time-Mike made
me % mad ! could have slapped HIM,
You know, Mike used to be with me as
much as he was over here at the engine
house--we live at s22 East Forty-third
street. Well. Mike was pretty big then
most as high as that Indicating a few |
feet above the foorl and he came over
70 our house one morning just when We |
we're eating breakfast and jumped right /
up and grabbed bun out OF my hand |
enc Of the ugary ones you know. Hon /
est. ! was awfully mad at him, but Ire just /
hooked at me and asked for more and kept |
teasing and II gave him the rest had,
But don't you think that was kind o bad
even for q dog-jumping up like that and
taking piece out OF my bun right at the
tablet was awfully mad at him then
biit Of course don't mind that now. be-
cause he is dead
I'VE couldn't tell where he was though
that was funny. He had a nice warm !
place TO sleep up. on the top floor here at /
toe fTehouse. and me always used 20 come /
back there at night. But he used to run .
all. around during the daytime. Mike.
here-Mike is the driver-would go TO .
the telephone and somebody up at Engine |
~ would tell him that Mike-our dog
was up there. Forty-four is in Seventy
fifth street, you know.
We'll, Mike-the driver-or whoever
Was talking. he would tell him to kick /
Mike-tho dog-oiit and he would come ,
home all right He didn't mean to really
lick him, you know2l would have gone .
UP there and wiped 'em out if they had .
hurt Mike-but just TO shut the door on
him. 50 a would tell Mike to come home /
and would scold him little and pretty
soon he would come home and would /
go upstairs to bed.
He used to go clear up To The Bronx
too, and always came back before night
You ought to have seen him when
there was a good big fire on. You know,
he used to sleep upstairs. We'll, when
the gong rang he would come down stairs I
fbout ten at time-well, maybe not ten.
lut three or four anyhow-and he would .
Re out here on the floor before the horses
were out and would bite the horses heels |
and make them get into the harness quick
Then he would run out as soon as the
doors were opened and would run ahead .
Of the horses, barking all the time and
keeping of other dogs.
You ought to have seen him when one
Of these street dogs got in the way. Mike
would bristle all up and start fight
and lick the other dog and catch up with
2l before she had got TO the fire. Honest,
Il got 30 the rest of the dogs wouldn't |
ret in the way at all-they knew all about
Nike.
They don't let me 20 to fires OF course
because | am only little girl But the
men say that Mike was always right be-
hind papa when they went into a build
ing. Papa is captain and goes ahead.
you know. Well Mike used 10 stay right
BY papa. and when he saw papa start
into a place he would be right behind
him Poor Nike, His eyes were all red
from being in the smoke you know,
and he had some hair burned off, but he
was too quick to get much hurt. Once
or twice he was in a building when the
roof came through, but he heard 1t first
and came out on the dead run
1T was funny once or twice You
know our men would be in a building
and they would hear a crying somewhere
a. a - 81. uF.ll