WELLINGTON ZOO

Dominion, Volume 9, Issue 2846, 10 August 1916, Page 7

WELLINGTON ZOO

OSMAN THE GREAT

A FAMOUS SLEDGE-DOG

(By John Castle, Secretary.of tho Wellington Zoological Society.)

Thero are many dogs in the world, but tho greatest of these is Osnian, the dog that has recently beon presented to tlic Wellington Corporation, that ho may be exhibited in tho Wellington Zoo. If Osinan had been a man, instead .of a dog, ho would have been a distinguished leader, a genuine hero, a faithful, shrewd, and successful soldior. In a great gale at soa, when the boat iu which Osman was pitch cd and tossed and rolled tremendously by a tempestuous sea, when ponies went swinging overboard, and a dog was flung, desperately into the unknown, Osman, drenched and shaken, shivered so that afterwards it was said of h'uii, "Osman, our best sledgo dog, was very bad this mornings" but when buried with hay,' although he could eat nothing, he recuperated amazingly, so that in a few hours again ho was lit for anything. Osman was a bom leader. Scott spoko of him as "a splendid leader," and as such he must rank in history, for ho proved his worth in some of tho most trying crises that dogs' have ever come through. When off duty, he waa friendly, but when on duty ho was a'strict, stern disciplinarian, regarding not friendship -where duty was concerned. Ho had been trained not to allow strangers to interfere with his driver, or with the treasures committed to their charge. Hence, when once Captain Scott approached the team in which the faithful Osman was, a nip in ihe leg told tho commander-in-chief that when on duty a faithful dog, like a faithful soldier, takes orders from only, one boss. And Osman is aB sagacious as he is faithful. Ho seems to scent death at a distance. Several times he has been very noar_ to' the arch-enemy, but the lucky canine seems to intuitively perceive when there is a mine near. Once the whole team of which he was a leader was threatened with destruction j but somehow, when the other dogs slipped down into a crevasso that had been hidden, the sagacious Osman found a foothold, and by the exercise of his . great strength kept it. Well might men who had ; seen many wonders stand amazed when Osman held his footing, while the'other dogs were howling and dangling in their breeching. Now the peoplo of New Zealand have an opportunity• to see the greatest dog of tho century— a dog that worthily acted his part in one of the greatest'dramas of modern times, and covered himself with glory by what lie did in assisting towards the achievement of what must ever be regarded .as a magnificent success, although like many another great success it must be associated with an awful tragedy. The scholars of the Richmond School, in England, presented Osman to the Scott Expedition; the scholars of New Zealand should buy a golden plate to extol his merit® on. Osman will arrive in Wellington by the Westralia to-day. More Than Was promised. A few days ago I had the honour of passing on to the Town Clerk three cheques for £10 each. One was to pay for a pair of ostriches which my society has presented to the Zoo. Another was to pay half the purchase price of a camel. The third was a voluntary contribution .towards the expenses incurred at Perth, and in bringing a pair of camels from there to the Zoo. In consequence of the war in which our Empire is engaged, the expenses were exceptionally heavy; ' A Beautiful Carden. Looking at the rose garden in tho grounds of the Zoo a few days ago, a member of the Wellington Rose and Carnation Society said: "Well, that is beautiful; just such a rose garden as I would like to have to cultivate if I had nothing else to do than to keep a garden in order." And the standard roses will, be a beautiful feature of this rosery. Ostriches Extraordinary. The African ostrich, being tho largest, and tho only two-toed, bird in the world, is always interesting; hut .when additional interest is given, as it has been given, in the result of a cross . between the South African ostrich, well known in New Zealand, and the Algerian ostrich, not so well known, all bird fanciers should rush to the Zoo to see the magnificent pair of crossbreds now on exhibition there.