LONE ST. FIRE INCIDENT.

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1742, 6 May 1913, Page 4

LONE ST. FIRE INCIDENT.

SAGACIOUS ST. BERNARD. Quito a good many stories havo been written on tho sagacity of; tlio St. Bernard dog, and at 0110 tiino this sort of slory used to flgu.ro largely in the school books. Such stories were no doubt taken cumi grano salis by older people, but truth is at least us strange as iictioii, and a dog of this breed probably saved th« lives of several people at the tragic Lome Sl-rcct fire on Saturday night. Tlio facts arc attested both by those whoso lives woro saml, and by the police. The house adjoining that in which Jin and Mrs. Hall lost their lives was occupied bv Mr. J. Carruthors and his wifo and family. All tlio inmates wero soundly asleep at tho time, but as tlwir liouso gradually filled with thick pungent smoko o. St. Bernard dog w'hic'h was in tho kitchen downstairs apparently "sized up" tho dangerous situation,. The dog mado his way upstairs, pushed open tho bedroom door, and, barking loudly, first beat on the bod with his pnws, and then, seizing tho bed clothes, tore tliem off, aiid . followed this up b,v endeavouring to drag the inmates out ol bed. When Mr. Carruthors was awakened ho saw, all 100 plainly, that «i volume of (lame was coining in at tho open window, and tlio wholo eorntr of the room had caught and was blazing liorcely. Tho dog, however, considered that lie had not yet finished his mission, and seeing his master awake, ho made oil to tho next iroom, and whou Mr. Cnrrutuors entered it. tlio dog was found endeavouring to get tlio children out of bed. . In tho opinion of the police, wlio arrived about this time, if another two minutes had- elapsed all the occupants in this house would probably have tuflorcd <lcatli by PUlToKitJon. As poon as (ho outer door \y«s opened the big St. Bernard shovwd himself plainlv eoiieonied about the house in which a tragedy was actually happening, lie ran down {lie street several times,, barking, as if to give tho alarm, and alwav.*return>ing to beat at the walls of Clio burning house. No one seems to have suspected that anyone was inside, but tho dog knew better.