DR. FRANK CRANE’S DAILY EDITORIAL

Sun (Auckland), Volume 1, Issue 81, 27 June 1927, Page 7

DR. FRANK CRANE’S DAILY EDITORIAL

THE UNSUNG HERO (Copyrights X92U JT is an old story, but it is ever new. It is the story ot how a dog saved human life. Particularly it is the story ot Peggy, the Spitz mascot, on the Are boat George B. McClellan, of New York. A number of men and their families were aboard twenty-six barges one cold day. The barges slipped their moorings and headed for the dark, swirling waters of Hell Gate. Peggy, the dog on the fire boat McClellan, scented something wrong. He sniffed the air and heard the screams of the women and children through the calm. Then he began to howl and jump around the deck. Members of the crew stuck their heads out of the hatches to see what was the matter. They heard the screams of the frenzied women and children and brought this fire boat to the rescue. Another tug boat came along and helped. They got a line to the barges and saved them from going Into the whirlpool and being strewn upon the reef. They brought them down the West channel of the East River in safety. When the barges were tied up at the wharf many of the women and children, as well as men, went down on their knees and offered thanks for their deliverance by the crews of the fire boat and the tug boat. The real hero of the occasion was the dog Peggy, who by his vigilance had perceived the danger and given timely warning. An editor was once asked what was the most interesting story in the world, and he said it was the story of the dog rescuing the child. Men have always been fond of the dog because of his faithful attachment and his vigilance in keeping watch. Their natural fondness for the canine will not he lessened by the story of Peggy, the Spitz.