The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1927-07-22
DOG DAYS
BY ELMO SCOTT WATSON

III - III the weather Is unusually
liz capricious, man can ex
pect the warmest weather
during the whole year.
But for the dog lover every day in
the year Is dog day." marked by
the warmth Of his affection for the
animal which Is additionally known
as "man's best friend" That man
recognizes this fact is shown by the
numerous instances In which he has
paid signal honor to certain individ-
uals of this race of what is often so
appropriately referred to as dumb
animals"
There is the case of Sergeant Major
| Jiggs, the mascot of the United States
marine corps, who died on January 8
of this year and was buried with full
military honors by his friends, who are
proud to call themselves "devil dogs"
There is the case of Stubby, the In
| ternationally famous mascot Of the
A. e. F., veteran of four major en-
| gagements, wearer of one wound
stripe, and recipient of numerous med
ais and decorations, who also died re-
Gently but who has been mounted and
| given place of honor in the Ameri-
can Red Cross museum at Washington.
There is Rufus, the Newfoundland
hero, who accompanied Lou Wescott
Beck, the Samaritan of Death Val
, ley" on all of his errands of mercy
into that earthly inferno to rescue
prospectors perishing from thirst-and
who is honored with his MASTER since
their deaths, with a monument in the
| city of Los Angeles.
Who has forgotten BALTIC, the Alas
kan husky, who won fame in his dash
| to Nome two years ago as the leader
Of dog team bearing the diphtheria
| serum to the plague-stricken city? Ac-
cording to press dispatches, BALTIC is
to have permanent home in the
| Cleveland zoo for the rest of his life
| instead of leading the wandering life
of vaudeville trouper or a sideshow
exhibit.
But monuments are not the only en-
| during memorials to the dogs fidelity
haps the most famous of all is the
eulogy once pronounced by Senator
| George G. Vest of Missouri, which, de
livered before jury in that state
| famous for its hound dogs, has been
! reprinted in newspapers and repeated
, as popular bit of American oratory
more times, since it was uttered fifty
years ago, than any other speech of
| its kind.
Famous as is this eulogy, there has
gathered around it a cloud of myth
and tradition which has obscured the
facts of the case and the circum-
| stances under which it was uttered.
The true story of the lawsuit over the
killing of Old Drum, the houn' dog,
made famous by Vests eulogy, was
recently made public by Will G. Fer
rill, editor of the Rocky Mountain Her
aid at Denver, Colo, who was a
nephew of the two litigants in the
case and who Is therefore in a posi-
ton to know the facts. Mr.. FerrilI's
story follows:
This hound case seems to be Develop
Ing in the East into as much of a
myth as those exaggerated tales of
Jesse James. The litigants in this case
were two uncles of mine. There have
been many versions of the narrative,
but the inside family story is that the
killing of Old Drum really was an ac-
cident, the result of an overcharge of
beans In shotgun which was plant
ed to give him good scare. If prop
er explanations had been offered, the
whole affair might have been settled
amicably, but the explanations were
neglected and as a result two families
were involved in bitter court feud
| and the hound case became famous.
The squabble came into public notice
| when Leonidas Hornsby, my mothers
brother, was accused by Charles Bur-
den, who had married my mothers sis
| ter, of having killed Hornsby's favorite
| hunting dog, Drum
Both families were well-to-do or
| the case never would have been tried
again and again and carried to the Su-
| preme court of Missouri in lengthy and
expensive litigation.
Drum was as popular at the Hornsby
place in Johnston county, Missouri, as
| at the farm of his master, Charles Bur-
den, who lived nearby. Drum would
go over to the Hornsbys and during
! those visits was often used by Uncle
Lon and others for hunting Game
| was then abundant in that part of Mis-
+, souri,, which had been much desolated
| by the Civil war.
| Some animal, wild or tame, was dis
| turbing the pans of milk at the Horns
| bys; finally it was discovered that
| Drum was the guilty one. Uncle Lon,
| as have heard the story, told or sug-
| gested to one of the younger members
of the family, that he load a shotgun
with beans and pepper old Drum with
shot. 1t so happened that the shot
| gun was overloaded, or the range too
! close, and instead of giving Drum a
! good "peppering," the hound was
killed. There was no intention at all,
| according to this story, to kill Drum
| This story about a poor man losing his
| favorite hound through the wicked act
of another is Eastern myth.
The mistake was that Uncle Charley
/ was not informed of fhe accidaptal