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TRAINING OF THE WAR DOG How Michel Saved His Master and How Artemis Delivered His Notes Were it possible for a man to wander through certain areas of France where she is sharpening her weapons of war he would chance on the strangest sight of the many strange ones the con ¬ flict has produced Here in big pens he could see hundreds of animals collected for their course of training ijjNot one of them but passed his medical test before a board with a special jury They are in the hands of their drillniasters learning wars lesson lessonPerhaps Perhaps strange cries would reach a dogs ears weird yelps and howls such as never even disturbed his midnight slumbers These would be calls to be used in special cases when the dog is doing duty out on No Mans Lund LundAnd And then if the visitor should stand ami watch his eye would presently light on a soldier lying limp on the ground with a dog sniffing round him Perhaps he woulud see the dog after a while drag the cap from the soldiers head or the identifica ¬ tion tag from his wrist and run off with it to his master This dog would be no other than a candi ¬ date for the RedCross learning his duty as scout for wounded soldiers and fetching the evidence from a body he found a live body Dead men dont count countThere There are many who doubt the power on the part of the dog to distinguish between the living and the dead so I will tell the story of Michel MichelMichel Michel had centered his affections on a young Frenchman named Henri whom he followed even into the trenches The feeling of course was mutual Henri loved the dog even to the point of sharing his all with him Each day at soup time Michel would carry his can place it beside Henris wait till it was filled and then trot off to eat his meal mealThe The time came vlien Henri who had gone over the top failed to return after the fight As man after man stumbled back to safety Michel eyed each with the eagerness of anxiety his nostrils quivering with fear But still Henri failed to ap l ear Then as the last of the line clambered back to the trench the dog could stand his terror no longer Out he darted over No Mans Land and presently returned with a glove that he had torn from the hand of his friend friendImmediately Immediately a litter went out guided by Michel They found his master far off lying cold and stiff Deciding he was dead they departed without him Michel however was not so easily convinced Time after time he went back for aid but none was forthcoming At last he left alone aloneMICHELS MICHELS RESCUE OF HIS MASTER MASTERLate Late that night when comparative quiet had settled on the trenches an alert sentinel keeping guard on a listeningpost saw a dim something that brought his rifle sharply to his shoulder Not twenty feet away and creeping toward the traverse was an object which he could not distinguish Then the moon came out from behind a cloud and the sentinel MichelThere recognized Michel There he was breathless and panting but he was not alone Behind him his clothes torn by the faithful dogs teeth was Henri Incl1 neu the animal had dragged him from the battlefield and miracles of miracles the boy was breathing How the dog had discovered signs of life in the inert form which had eluded the trained eye of a field attendant the doctor would not attempt to ex ¬ plain plainHenri Henri recovered He returned to the trenches with Michel by his side sideThere There is many a wounded man left lying out in No Mans Land apparently forgotten by his friends who has his first grain of comfort administered by a dog by a sniff in his ear or a lick on his cheek or a cold muzzle exyloring his face Yet the direct service rendered by these noncombatant canine forces is as nothing to that which they contribute indirectly Behind the lines it is customary to store ammunition and pile iin arms which the soldiers may need at a moments notiee These dumps as they are called are sacred places to be touched by none but an official hand Over them the dog stands guard and heaven help the intruder whom he fails to recognize as a friend Out friendOut on listeningpost the animal is equally re ¬ lentless Here through the night men take turns watching the hostile signs of activity Many a time the boche intent on a surprise raid kills these sentries creeping un behind them and enters the trench where their comrades are asleep But such disaster is not so likely to occur when the dog is watching by their side Sometimes he stands there quietly Sometimes he roams doing some spying for himself Should he see any suspicious activity from the other side immediately he sends up a strange cry which warns the sentry who in turn warns the men Should the enemy persevere in his attempt at a raid lie finds our men ready for him with fixed bayonets Often however such a howl will deter him with its threat of a tough tight uiieud uiieudGKEAT GKEAT EXPLOIT OF AETEMIS AETEMISThere There was a foggy night once when his acute hearing failed Artemis who was doing such duty out on No Mans Land Artemis it must be explained is a popular hero of France a dog of uncertain pedigree with a mixture of the Great Dane in him and a touch of the French mountain sheep dog So serious was the result of this treachery on the part of his ears that a section of his regiment was cut off Poor Artemis He had always been so faithful and had so often saved his friends friendsBut But they trusted him still and to prove it they dispatched him with a note attached to his collar warning their comrades of their danger It was a hot night on the line and the bullets were flying fast Phut phut they fell around the flying feet of Artemis but he paid no heed to them His reputation was at stake and he redeemed it He got through witli his message Aid was sent to his squad It arrived in time And there followed a celebration in honor of Artemis arranged by the colonel himself himselfThe The hero however was not yet satisfied that his duty was done At Ypres he continued to act as courier and patrol and no accidents interfered with his efficiency now Finally came a day when the captain commanding him found his own life threat ¬ ened by the attack of two bodies None of his men was near him But Artemis was wasThe The captain managed to kill one assailant As he did so the other cocked his rifle to shoot Whereupon Artemis exerting all his strength sprang at the mans throat and seized it so viciously that he strangled him The captain was saved So was Artemis but both went to the hospital hospitalAnd And there installed before him he found a hero from Verdun not so famous a hero certainly as Artemis himself but no mean one and a mongrel too This little unnamed dog was intrusted one day with a dispatch He was to carry it from one com ¬ pany headquarters to another and his way lay through a nerfect rain of shell fire As he trotted along behind the line high explosive after explosive fell almost directly in his path Finally a flying piece caught him on the jaw tearing it badly but still he plodded on He delivered his dispatcii and dropped unconscious unconsciousHe He is only one of the many dogs which are wounded every day No casualty lists are published of the canine forces Burned by liquid fire strangled by poison gas blown to atoms by high explosives scarred by bullets and shrapnel there is no horror of warfare of which the animal does not have his share shareHe He suffers from shell shock just like the soldier In London at present there are twentyfive cases of canine blindness nearly all due to this collapse of the nervous system He suffers from exhaustion due to the strain of overwork and underfeeding
