New-York tribune., 1915-03-28
Private Tells Why Collie
Died and with Him
His Fellows.
CARRIED MESSAGES
FOR GERMAN SPY
SearCherS Found Message Under
His Collar. and Execution
Was Soon Decreed.

The dog IS omnipresent. lie plays
his part IN war as well as IN peace
BCt who could imagine that dog
would ever be shot as q spy. OF, 10 ne
more exact, the gccOmphce of spy
Yet this is what happened a few weeks
AGO IN the trenches which form the
dividing line between the hosts o. Ger
many and the Allies in western Irarce.
The dog had been one Of the cnlei
sources of amusement and inspiration
10 the men in the trenches, and many
q wcarisomc hour had been made more
cndurablc by shc fsithtulness and Cood
hu1o~ exhibited bv the members ot
the canine world. But when collie
was caught delivering messages 10 ,he
enemy md was sentenced 10 be ahoi,
and this order was followed by an
other. the Cist Of which was that all
docs at the front must be killed,
Tommy Atkins and Monsieur IraAcais
we're gr.ef-stricken.
The story is aptly told for t'e
United Press by private m the tor-
cign Legion.
"Dcmcillc was tho spy OF ali spies.
relates thc private "Hc lived win
us iu our trenches; he shot at the
Germans and cursed them as We Cld
Bu- an the time ne was sending mcs-
.aces to them. And when ne vas
caught i'm the act he kept silent like
a man. Our officers took charge o.
him. and he disappeared, executed, We
heard.
"It vas n collie dog tho, proved the
u0doinc Of Dcmc'lle. a fnc lorC-haired
animal which Of all the stray dogs
making their homes in the trenches
had the most friends among the men.
The collie liked Demeiile best. We
found out afterward that Demeille
used TO save his food and even 20
hungry himself in order to keep himself
high in the colljc's good viii.
"How Demeille ever trained the dog
TO 20 TO the German trenches from
ours we we've never able 70 figure out,
but we first suspected Domeillc when
,.e saw him lfJ the dog TO the cage
of our trench and send him on his
way by throwing stone toward the
German lines. which were only l5O
feet distant.
"When the dog came back that night
sentry caught him and searched him.
Under his collar was a map which De-
nellie had drawn with note written
in German: we don't understand this
map. Can't you make II palmer" The
sentry put the note back in place and
Let the dog 20 to Demeille's subway
nut Two men were watching Demelile
when the dog entered. Demeille put
his finger under the dogs collar, pulled
out the note and began TO read 1t when
the men jumped on him.
"Demeile was very cool about 1t, but
he knew that his end had come. He was
taken away and sentenced 20 death by
court martial. Luckily, the firing squad
was OF chosen from among the men IN
IoI h iv,1h ha-
fore US as an example. He kept his head
high and seemed satisfied with what he
had done for his country. Then they
took him away somewhere 20 die.
"The next day we we're forced 70 per-
form several executions that were
harder for some of the men, think,
than shooting their old trenchmate
would have been.
"'Kill all the dogs in your trenches
ran the new command. | think some
Of the men who had made pets of stray
dogs wept the night that order came.
One fellow / know slept with his dog
that night. We couldn't kill the dogs
in cold blood; we were acquainted with
them just as we were with each other.
They had been the bright spots in our
uddy, drab lives. NANCY and dirty as
they were, we were little cleaner; when
lUtfe WASH a ollllt itLb on Oul ldNSo
during the rainy or extra dangerous
days there was always a sparkle in the
eyes Of the trench dogs, and they were
always ready TO play.
"But We had to kill them. Portu-
guese who loved a little white fox
terrier discovered the easiest way. He
threw q stone out Of the trench; the
little fellow went after it, and just as
he was picking il up in his mouth
about dozen of our rifles blazed at
him, and over he went. We made be-
lieve 70 ourselves that we had been
shooting at the Germans, and that
Poopoo had been killed by accident,
So our six dog friends went into eterni-
~ that day, laying themselves down
among the bodies of the dead soldiers
and dying deaths that we ourselves
might meet at any time.
"'A dog can't expect better death
than his master said the Portuguese,
with tears yelling in his eyes.
"No soldier in all this great war has
found a harder thing to do than we
did that day, when the dogs were SEN
fenced 70 die"