The Washington herald., 1909-06-27

among the dogs is attributable TO Ger
tain marvellous instinct They seem 10
be aware" have been told, when ami
mails OF their species are about TO be
afflicted with some sickness. and, losing
no time. fan upon the doomed BRUTE and
devour him
Be this as It may. it IS nevertheless
true that no dead dog is ever seen lying
about the streets. With the enormous
canine population OF Constantinople. some
OF them must be dying every day OF the
year Yet no one that I have met and
have asked about the matter can ever
recall 10 have seen a dead one. What
becomes OF their bodies? The people
would not take the trouble 20 remove
them: that is left 10 the four-foOted scav-
engers themselves. who, Il must be as
sumed, are responsible for the elimina-
ton Of the eareaSses of their brethren,
along with the other Oftal-
Nobody ever kills any OF these pariah
dogs in Constantinople. The Christians
do not dare 10 DO so for fear OF provok-
ing Moslem wrath, while the Mohamme-
dan believes that misfortune will befall
him If he destroys that TO which Allah
has given life. Formerly, indeed. the
killing OF one Of these dogs. even by ac-
cident. was a statutory offense. punish
able by imprisonment, and unless / am
much mistaken. these laws are still in
existence. though there has been little
occasion within my knowledge for their
application.
Il is true that one occasionally sees a
dog with a manned leg. But this is due
70 the fact that they win insist upou
lying stretched at full length in the mar
row streets, and that win carriages ter
ing along az full speed they do not al
ways have the time 20 get out Of the way
Much as the dog Of Constantfnople viii
lie I'm the center Of The roadway. basldng
IN the sun, sometimes whole patches OF
them, he is never known 70 take a siesta
on the tracks OF the many tram car lines
which now criss-cross StambouL
Their ears are also usually in a very
diiapidated condition This is due n The
fact that when they fight they always en-
deavOT 70 grab one anOther's ears and
that when once they get a good grip they
never let go until they carry or
mouthful.
These fights are usually caused by tres
pass. Every one who has been TO Con
stantinople knows that the dogs have.
through some agreement OF their own.
divided up the huge city into a number OF
districts with sharply defined boundaries.
invisible 10 the human eye and yet plain
ly apparent 10 the animal In the older
parts Of the town these boundaries have
existed without change from time inme-
mortal But as the metropolis grows IN
area new districts are occupied by the
dogs and new frontier lines devised
which shows that they are progressive
1T is difficult 10 make a dog leave his
district
I have often discussed the matter with
my old friend. the late Laurence OIL
plant. He. too. was much interested in
these dogs and fond Of them. and when
living at Constantinople would always
speak 10 them kindly. They readily re-
spond 10 any kind word. even II il be in
an unknown tongue. and soon get 20
know and 10 recognize the speaker TO
such an extent that when he appears in
their particular district they win accom-
pany him. with every sign OF friendship
and satisfaction. until their boundary
line Is reached. There they stop short,
and If by any chance they venture 10
overstep II. which is rare. at cnce the
dogs from the adjacent district rush to
the scene and hurl themselves upon the
Intruder
The reason why the dogs appreciate
h-tulN speech IS because, although the
Moslem VIII not permit the dog 10 be
harmed or killed and looks upon him as
useful instrument Of sanitation. never
theless considers him IN the light OF an
unclean animal That IS why these dogs
OF Constantinople are so different 20 those
in this country. Here we keep dogs as
our companions, as members Of our
households But the Stamboul dogs are
dependent upon their own resources. an
swerable 70 no one bur themselves. mas
terless, and while not subject 20 man, vet
constituting with him an integral and
very useful element Of the population OF
the Turkish metropolis.
fa
Wonderful tales are told Of the sagacfty
Of these dogs. While the fighting which
preceded the deposition Of Abdul Harnid
was in progress IN the streets OF Con-
! stantinople they disappeared from view
In the most miraculous manner. without
leaving any trace. reappearing. however.
as soon as the conflict was at an end.
] recall an English lady whom I used
TO know in Para. She possessed a very
handsome skye terrier but Il was fmpos-
sible TO let the little fellow out for exer-
else on account Of the pariah dogs in the
street. To obviate this she conceived the
| scheme Of providing a plentiful meal for
! them daily, al which the little terrier
/ was always present Through this means