Vilas County news. [volume] (Eagle River, Vilas County, Wis.) 1896-1927, 1915-09-01
MERRY DOGS OF WAR
Tale of "UgIy," Scared Hero OF
a Hundred Battles.
Wins. Fame and CorporaPs stripes
With the British Troops in North
ern France-A Challenge
and What Came of 1t.
ey GEORGE DUFREsNE.

international News Service Correspondent
Paris.-In the early days OF this
war. Ugly scrambled ashore in north
ern France a stowaway on one OF the
channel packets He was khaki
tinted cur of the most disreputaDie
appearance. Nobody's dog; out Win
a soul so tuned to the do1ngs OF SOL
diers that as soon as he discovered
that the great game YVES going on, ne
swore to be in it and OF it. He was
natural fighter, scored and SCARED
with hundred battles.
So they attached him here to b. A.'
which means any sort OF JOB that
going at the base-"B Outstanding Tor
base, and "X" being the recognized
algebraic symbol signifying an un-
known quantity He was signed on
the A. S. C. (Pickford's Light Horse)
to deal with the rats which raVage
the bales down by the docks. Like
the minister of munitions he was
given a free hand with his subject,
and so successful was he with these
gray-iacketed rascals that he soon re-
ceived a corporaPs stripes, double ra-
tions Che dearly loves JAM, and the
offer, after another singularly success
full raid among the rodents, of COM
mission. This last he refused declar-
ing that he would never leave the
ranks.
Ugly's prowess was noised abroad.
It reached the fighting line. G. h. y.
heard of it, so that presently a dusty
M. T. driver, pulling up his car amid
the shell-strewn debris of the dock,
handed a packet to the young otf1cer
in charge, demanding a speedy an
swer. The communication read as fol-
| lows:
Dug-out Ssh, Battersea Rise. Tuesday.
We always congratulated ourselves
| here in having the ugliest dog and the
| fercest fighter in Flanders. We hereby
challenge Corporal Ugly, A. S. C.. to
| at % rounds, catch as-Catch-can, at any
| handy spot within or without the mean
| ing of the act. Stakes-tVe pounds
Inquiries were Immediately made as
to the standing, skill and fighting
being considered satisfactory, the chal'
| lenge was accepted, and Ugly was put
| into strict training, much to his dis
| gust.
heavy book was made on the
| forthcoming combat, and when the
tense evening of the meeting of these
growing Greeks arrived, the arena
was packed with an eager, brown
| faced crowd, all a-throb with the
sweet pleasures of anticipation. Ser
geant Smiler arrived, due to time. in
carefully corded biscuit box
Ugly was already in possession OF
the floor, striding up and down In the
fierce pride of ownership, and snarl-
ing a challenge to the whole category
| of Crufts.
The box was dragged into the ring,
the cords unlaced, the lid raised, the
cage tipped at the necessary angle
by brave Tommy, who leaped back
over the parapet as with roar the
incarcerated thunderstorm hurled
himself into the lists,
| Alert, savage and with his back hair
bristling, Ugly crouched for the
| spring-crouched, and then sat down
hard in absolute amazement; for
there in front Of him was his exact,
| his complete double in size and shape
and color. Sergeant Smiler also
crouched and sat down suddenly, as
| if frozen to the floor. In the silence
which follows, the breathing Of the
| two dogs could be heard-jerkily,
like the spurts OF southwest squall
at sea.
Then, with glad gurgle of canine
melody, the two animals flung them
selves into one another's arms in
brotherly caress, in which yaps of Joy
were mingled with yelps of rem
, iniscence, almost tear compelling to
the sentimental soldiers gathered
around For none could fail to read
the riddle.
Corporal Ugly and Sergeant Smiler
were twins, and this was their first
meeting since puppyhood. Truth is
sometimes stranger than fiction. This
is true tale, and the British army is
still laughing over it. A good chuckle
now and again is a tonic