A STRING OF DOG TALES 309 



they are exceedingly fierce animals. This belief is 

 substantiated by a very interesting account of the 

 wild dogs of Atlanta, Georgia, after the siege of 

 that city during the Civil War. Of these animals 

 the Atlanta Constitution says: 



"OUR DOGS HAD A HARD FIGHT 



during the siege. There were thousands of them 

 in those days, and when the season of short ra- 

 tions set in they were the first to feel it. In many 

 instances they were abandoned by their refugee 

 owners and had to literally forage for a living. 



"The thunder of the big guns, the unearthly 

 shrieks of the shells, the noise of falling buildings, 

 the rattle of musketry, and the heavy tramp of 

 marching soldiers, all struck terror to the canine 

 contingent. Toward the close of the siege nearly 

 every dog in the city was half rabid or in the last 

 stage of nervous prostration. The wretched brutes 

 sought shelter under houses and in bombproofs. 

 Majestic mastiffs and surly bull-dogs curled their 

 tails between their legs and yelped mournfully at 

 every unusual sound. Hundreds of the bolder 

 ones made a frantic break over the breastworks 

 and ditches, and made their way through the lines 

 of both armies, never stopping until they reached 

 the woods. 



"It was even worse after Sherman's army entered 

 the place. The citizens were driven out in such a 

 hurry that they had no time to think of their pets, 

 and no means of transportation for them. Later, 

 the destruction of the city by fire, and the general 



