Biographical fiction; Jones, Charles Jesse, 1844-1919 -- Fiction; Pioneers -- Fiction; Western stories
To tell of Moze's derelictions up to that time would take more space
than would a history of the whole trip; but the enumeration of
several incidents will at once stamp him as a dog of character, and
will establish the fact that even if his progenitors had never taken
any blue ribbons, they had at least bequeathed him fighting blood.
At Flagstaff we chained him in the yard of a livery stable. Next
morning we found him hanging by his chain on the other side of an
eight-foot fence. We took him down, expecting to have the sorrowful
duty of burying him; but Moze shook himself, wagged his tail and then
pitched into the livery stable dog. As a matter of fact, fighting
was his forte. He whipped all of the dogs in Flagstaff; and when our
blood hounds came on from California, he put three of them _hors de
combat_ at once, and subdued the pup with a savage growl. His crowning
feat, however, made even the stoical Jones open his mouth in amaze.
We had taken Moze to the El Tovar at the Grand Cañon, and finding
it impossible to get over to the north rim, we left him with one of
Jones's men, called Rust, who was working on the Cañon trail. Rust's
instructions were to bring Moze to Flagstaff in two weeks. He brought
the dog a little ahead of time, and roared his appreciation of the
relief it was to get the responsibility off his hands. And he related
many strange things, most striking of which was how Moze had broken his
chain and plunged into the raging Colorado River, and tried to swim it
just above the terrible Sockdolager Rapids. Rust and his fellow-workmen
watched the dog disappear in the yellow, wrestling, turbulent whirl
of waters, and had heard his knell in the booming roar of the falls.
Nothing but a fish could live in that current; nothing but a bird could
scale those perpendicular marble walls. That night, however, when the
men crossed on the tramway, Moze met them with a wag of his tail. He
had crossed the river, and he had come back!
To the four reddish-brown, high-framed bloodhounds I had given the
names of Don, Tige, Jude and Ranger; and by dint of persuasion, had
succeeded in establishing some kind of family relation between them and
Moze. This night I tied up the bloodhounds, after bathing and salving
their sore feet; and I left Moze free, for he grew fretful and surly
under restraint.
The Mormons, prone, dark, blanketed figures, lay on the sand. Jones was
crawling into his bed. I walked a little way from the dying fire, and
faced the north, where the desert stretched, mysterious and
illimitable. How solemn and still it was! I drew in a great breath of
the cold air, and thrilled with a nameless sensation. Something was
there, away to the northward; it called to me from out of the dark and
gloom; I was going to meet it.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account