A British Workman. 139 



"working man" this variety of Canis familiarises likewise 

 proved a success ; but, inasmuch as he has not as yet 

 interfered with the rights of the artisan, he has not been 

 the cause of trouble between master and man. Here is the 

 story : One of the electric lighting companies found 

 difficulty in carrying certain of the copper strips or wires 

 through the underground culverts. These strips, about 

 one hundred yards or so in length, are supported at 

 intervals of ten yards by transverse bars, and considerable 

 expense and trouble were caused in getting the strips past 

 their supports. One of the foremen was " a doggy man," 

 and it occurred to him that a fox terrier might be trained 

 to carry through the passages a rope, to the end of which 

 the strip could be attached. He had a puppy on which he 

 at once began his tuition, which in due course was 

 perfected. 



It is easy enough to train a terrier to travel underground 

 a hundred yards or more, but here it had to leap over the 

 supports, which she soon learned to do. Now she performs 

 her task cleverly, has assisted to lay many miles of wire 

 in London and elsewhere, and each Saturday receives her 

 wages like the men receive theirs, and is looked upon as 

 one of the most valued employes of the Crompton Electric 

 Lighting Company. 



I think with these two stories of a dog's sport and of a 

 dog's work any ordinary believer in anecdotes of canine 

 intelligence ought to be satisfied ; still I am not much of a 

 believer in such stories ; nor is it the proper work of a 

 terrier to go a-fishing or to assist an electric lighting 

 company in its underground operations. There are many 

 uses for him in this world, even as a companion and as a 

 watch dog, as the former he is much to be extolled, and his 



