Evening star., 1936-02-16

hunting dogs of Gen. Washington.
Bugle Ann, "the sweetest-mouthed
dog in Missouri; "the little lady,"
starts the red blood to racing through
ones veins and affectionately wallows
all over one; pulls at ones heart
strings and causes her bugle tones to
echo through the book until the last
page is turned and the book is closed.
It is one of those gripping stories
one reads about In the advertisement
for best sellers-except this Is the real
stuff.
Mr.. MacKinlay Kantor has won q
lasting place in the hearts OF all
lovers Of the canine breed Of what
ever variety. It's tragical story,
yet one would not want to change
the smallest thing In the plot Spring.
field Davis, hunter of the Ozarks
who never allowed his hounds to
kill fox, is the hero, and Bugle Ann
is the heroine.
Mr.. Kantor says of Bugle Ann: Her
voice was something to dream about
on any night when she was running
through the hills One of her
great-grandfathers, many generations
removed, had followed Spring Davis
away from home when he went eff
to join Gen. Claiborne Jackson and
his homespun army among the
prickly orange hedges, so there was
logic in the inheritance which put
that trumpet in her throat" Spring.
field Davis, the old ex-Confederate
soldier who ran away at the age Of
IL to join the Confederate Army, was
50 at the time the story is told. He
had a charming gallantry towards
his female dogs and never called them
by the usual title, but always spoke
of them as little ladies'" He says:
I'VE never kill the fox we don't
ride no horses. nor wear funny coats
and caps. We raise dogs and We
train them " and with his deep
devotion to Bugle Ann. he thinks
Sometimes I reckon I don't deserve
her; his wife, Adelaide. who was 80
years his junior, and who was petite
and comely, confessed that she knew
that after his dogs Spring loved her
we'll"
Then after a while the tragedy
came and the weetmouthed voice
of Bugle Ann echoed through the
woods only in memory until
well, read for yourself, and consider
that another dog classic was born
last year.
At the battle of Princeton, when
Gen. Washington saw a British regi-
ment give way and the men flying pell-
nell over the field, he remarked with
some show of feeling, An old-fash-
ioned Virginia fox hunt, gentlemen.
showing that after the din of battle
had subsidized, and in the long and
hard marches in those days which
tried mems souls" his thoughts must
have often reverted to those happy
days in Virginia when the life of a
gentleman planter. though filled with
many obligations to the colony, was
one of combined sport and duty.
Old Ed Armstrong in "Bugle Ann
was somewhat religious and named his
dogs after Billy Sunday and Dwight
Moody, while his son, being movie
fan, named his Zasu Pitts and after
other stars of the cinema. In Colonial
days. however, the dogs were given
either neurological names or those
that savored of the practical side of
life.
Famous Dog Pack Of
Gen. Washington.
Tartar, Jupiter. Trueman, Tipler,
Truelove. Juno, Dutchess and Lady,
Sweetlips and Music, were some Of
the names given to the Washington
pack. which was famous in its time.
In speaking Of his hounds, an authority
said: IF speed, accuracy, stamina,
courage and music is the standard by
which fox hounds are judged, then
we must believe that the Washington
pack were the equal, if not the
superior, of any hounds today,
whether compared with the aristo-
cratically bred and carefully pedigreed
packs of England or with what in
competent alleged historians are
pleased to term American mongrels'
of today"
In Washington's time the kennels
were about 100 yards from the old
family burying vault, and 1t is also
pretty generally accepted among his
torians that the Marquis de La
Fayette sent pack of French hounds
to Mount Vernon, but no mention of
them is made by members of the
family in writing of the kennels.
On next Saturday, when the 204th
anniversary of the birth of President
Washington Is celebrated in this
country and in many parts Of the
world, his craftsmanship and many
virtues will be extolled, but too often
those homely, human qualities which
helped to nurture his great endurance
in the dark days of the Revolution and
proved the true democracy of the man
in public life are passed over. Hero
worship Is unfair to any man. And
who would not love to hear about that
"bob'd-tail and cut-eared fox" which