IMH 75:2 192

"Chronicles of Upper Burnet" (1)

1881

Friday, April 8th.

It rained till towards noon after which time it only drizzled
occasionally. Kivett and Bob Foster were in the sap business
to-day. Kivett stirred off about noon. The kettle had been
brought from Foster's and about a gallon of syrup was made
into wax and sugar of which Father and I, Jap and Bob Foster
John Kivett and Bill Hand all partook and had plenty. I went
up there early to pass away the time, Father went later. Alvin
spent the greater part of the day making the hinge-post for a
gate. After dinner Father went up and finished making his
fence lumber. Jap Foster was sent down to borrow the hog­
ringers and get me to fetch the old dog up there. He was
already there but I took him to the side of a hill at some
distance from the boiling place, where Sayroy Kivett and three
other fellows were with rifles. At about two rods distance
Sayroy put a rifle bullet through the old dog's head almost
exactly in the center of his forehead. He never knew what hurt
him but throwing all four feet together, turned a somersault
and expired. Foster was to have all the sap after Kivett's
stirring off. He got nearly four barrels and when he hauled
them in brought in the buckets also and piled them near the
boiling place. The visitor besides myself and Kivett was Dan
Bain. Foster stirred off at night and had nearly the same crowd
I guess.

Obituary.

Bose was born in the summer of 1871 at the residence of
V. T. (commonly called Jake) Harrison. He has been with this
family since September of that year. His virtues were rather
negative than positive. He had but little training, and therefore
was of little use comparatively speaking, but he did as little
harm as any dog that ever lived his number of years as he had
almost no bad habits whatever

Teaching Notes: Students will likely be upset with the shooting or the dog. It was likely
not done in sport but for reasons that people humanly take their very ill pets to vets to have them
euthanized. William evidently did not have either the vet nor the desire to euthanize his dog.
The obituary is interesting in several ways. He expected dogs to be of use and not just pets,
and he seems both stoic and remorseful that he had to be euthanized.