Iditarod pioneer., 1915-05-01
RASTUS

Nearly everyone in the North has at one l time or another possessed a dog to which | he at least attributed almost human intelh- | gence and characteristics which stamped him as superior to all other dogs Such man is Chief of Police Byers and such dog is Rastus, who acknowledges Earl as master at certain seasons of the year.
 Rastus would not carry off any blue rib bons at bench show. He IS sturdy speci men of Northern dog, of no particular breed, but wise in the ways of the country and of men, He is getting along in years, and has outved his usefulness as a work dog, if he ever were classcd as such. Distinguish ing him from the ordinary malumute he is possessed of q most kindly and insinuat- ing disposition, and his great, wistful eyes display more than ordinary intelligence, and these luminaries he uses for his own | advantage.
 i In a land where food is high priced and keeping dogs is costly luxury, it IS GUS tomary to snuff out the lives of dogs which have outlived their ability to work. Some time ago MT. Byers took Rastus and another dog to the outskirts of the city, intending to painlessly put them to death. He dis posed of one animal and was about to hre 8 fatal shot at Rastus when that sagaclous brute taking in the situation, put to use ! all the guile of which he Is possessed, and wagging his remnant of a tail and looking pitifuliy toward Byers, advanced fearlessly and laid his head against Earls person, all l the time using his expressive eyes to the | best advantage The result was as was to l be expected Earl felt like an assassin, and i put away the gun and Rastus marched back to town with him, since which time he has been even friendlier than ever, and l is a general favortc. He can enter places where even the most pamperad of pet dogs would hardly dare to venture, secure iii the knowledge that he will not be molested. At | meal times, if Byers is not on hand, he does not hesitate to let any friendly ylooklng stranger know he is hungry not in an in solent manner, but in such way that he invariably prevails.
 But as spring approaches and the boats on the river begin to show life, there Is a change The river is Rastuss home. The town with its warm stoves and comfortable corners is all right when the thermometer indicates zero weather; but when the water
 runs he becomes 8 sailor. He is not at
 tached to any particular boat-they all look
 alike to him He knows that there is food fer dogs as well as men and that the hard working rivermen are kind to him. So as soon IS the river commenced to open and the boats began to move, Rastus shipped on the Little Delta, and has not been near town since. He knows every bend of the river between Iditarod and Dikeman having travelled up and down for several seasons. Byers tells story that Is characteristic of | Rastus. He was bringing party O1 passen
 gers up the river couple of seasons ago,
 and was explaining to them the merits of Rastus as a retriever. The passengers were skeptical and an opportunity presented itself to demonstrate his cleverness. Coming around bend, flock of ducks was sighted, and Byers shot one of them Rastus going over the side after it, When the boat and passengers arrived opposite to
 where Rastus had rescued the duck. they found him contentedly sitting on the bank devouring the bird Disguised Byers put on full speed and resumed his journey, leav
 ing Rastus on the bank but when they came to convenient turn in the river, there was Rastus, clamorng to get on board, and of course he was taken on.
 Rastus probably will stay with Captain Brown on the Little Delta until the navi-
 cation season is in full swing, when he will distribute his favors among the many other boats, staying with each one es long as his inclination lasts, and then shipping on another and when winter rolls around
 again and the boats are once more frozen in and deserted. he will hunt up Bvers
 and insinuate himself into his good graces
 and incident ally home for the winter.