Ellsworth American. [volume] (Ellsworth, Me.) 1855-current, 1909-10-20
TRAVELLING DOGS.

Some of the Trials of the Baggage
Man in Charge Of Them.
''The trunk mauler who DOESN'T like dogs
and understand their ways and kinks and
understand, - we'll, the kinks Of the trav-
cling dogs owners, hasn't any business in
baggage car nowadays, especially in the
summer time, said baggageman with .
long run.
"All hands take their dogs when they
go railroad travelling, and in recent years
the railroads have fixed up q regular
schedule OF dog rates from place to place,
the same - for two-legged travellers.
"A dogs fare usually is fixed at about
one-fifth the fare Of human passenger,
whether the dog be mastiff that takes up
nigh . quarter OF the space Of q baggage
car, or . sulky, sneezing dun Of . sleeve
mum that means and whimpers in the
fancy basket placed in the corner on top
Of stock Of through trunks.
"Taking the general run OF 'em, dogs
travelling in the baggage car behave pretty
well II their master or mistress Is not on
the same train with 'em. But when dog
knows that his master or mistress is only
two or three cars away from him he'll sure
raise more different kinds OF the devil in
baggage car than you could keep any tab
on.
"When the dog is checked all the way
through the place in the care OF the box
busters, he's liable to pout with his head
bet, cen his paws for the first hours OF
the run, and every time the door leading
to the coaches is opened, he'll cock his
ears and begin to tug at his string, as il
expecting q visit from his owner. But
when the visit that he's expecting doesn't
happen, why he passes up watching the
door rs bad job, and from that time on
he begins to smoke up and act like nat
ural dog.
'.That is to say, he sets tsctfully to work,
after the manner Of dogs, to make hit
with the baggage handlers; watches their
work with curiosity, thumps the floor
with his tail and looks happy when they
glance in his direction, and thus he al
ways accomplishes his deliberate design
OF winning us, no matter now perfectly
aware we may be that he's q con dog from
away back and just working US.
"By the time the end OF the run is
reached the baggage man and sensible UNI
accompanied dog of this sort are generally
great pals, and I've handled q lot OF dogs
that sure hated to shake paws with and
say good-by to when it came time to sepa-
rate and we had to mooch our respective
ways.
"But as l say, ! travelling dog is alto
gether q different proposition when his
master or mistress is along -particularly
his mistress. His mistress generally takes
seat in the coach next to the baggage
car SOS to b. near the dog, and I've often
seen women sit up in day coach all night
instead OF taking a sleeping car because
part Of the train and they wouldn't stand
for being removed so far from their dogs.
every half hour or so the woman who's
got dog in the baggage car will visit the
mutt and call him baby names and scratch
the top Of his head and molly-coddle him
along, and Of course that kind of thing
puts the deuce and all in dog.
back to her coach he almost chokes him
self to death trying to follow her, and he
puts in the intervals between her visits in
whining and whimpering and in trying
to cook up some scheme to bust loose and
reach his mistress. There's no doing any
thing with him. He has an acute sense Of
outrage over being compelled to ride in
the baggage car when his owner is riding
first-class only thirty or forty feet away,
and he talks to himself about it and
mutters and growls over it until, like
some people who deliberately work them
selves up over fancied grievances, he gets
himself into state of nervousness.
"When woman is compelled by cir
cumstances to ship her dog unaccompa-
MED, the time that she consumes in in
structing and enjoining the baggageman
as to the peculiarities OF her mutt and in
trying to impress on him just how the
kiyoodle's got to be handled il he's to sur
vive the journey, is a-plenty.
zone forenoon . while ago, just before
starting time, Q fetching looking young
woman passed over to me, all tucked away
in his hand-woven and perfumed wicker
basket, little snip Of King Charles
spaniel, which she said was to go through
to Cleveland, where her husband would
meet tho dog. Then she slipped me
tearofi Of paper money, blushed and STAN
mered:
"sNow, the dear little fellow is most
particular about his food, you know, and
is used to- bat she couldn't get any
further. Instead, she opened her Glad
stone bag and taking pains not to catch
my eye, she began to hand me things out
OF the bag. First there was little alco-
hol lamp, then q bottle Of alcohol with
which to I'LL it. Then q small porcelain
stewpan. Then can of condensed milk.
1 thought saw through it then, but l
didn't say anything. And, anyhow, by
this time her face was like q blush rose