Attacked by a monstrous tramp dog, streaming blood from four wounds inflicked by the cur’s teeth. Joe Kautenberg of Marion street this morning fought off the ferocious beast and finally twisted its head from its body, leaving the gory mess near the Forty Steps while he sought a physician to attend to his injuries.
    It is such a battle as has never before been waged in this city, man opposing beast, in relentless and terrific combat.
    Had not Kautenberg been six feet tall and strong as a giant he could never have won the victory and might now be lying in the hospital a victim to the dog’s ravening maw.
Tramp Dog Did Job.
    Mr. kautenberg, who is night foreman of the sugar house at the Corn Products plant and is related to the Kautenbergs of Market street, had finished his turn at the sugar house and was returning home at about nine-thirty this morning.
    As he neared the Forty Steps that lead up to the hill from Market street he noticed that a large uncertain colored tramp dog without collar or tag was following him.
    He chased the dog which instead of going away ran with a catlike motion towards him and finally sprang at his hand.
    Kautenberg jerked the member away but the fangs of the angered canine met in his flesh and the combat began, the conquering spirit in the man meeting the ferocity of the beast on equal ground, the man struggling without any weapons except his bare hands against the dog, provided by nature with terrible fangs, an instinct to destruction, and the low ravening spirit of the beast.
Terrible Battle Witnessed.
    Italians who saw the battle say that it was horrifying.
    The dog bit the man four times, on either hand, and incited to fury by the sight and smell of blood made renewed efforts to get at some vital spot, it is thought.
Chokes Battling Beast.
    Kautenberg did not flinch but with a courage as rare as it is magnificent watched his chance and grasped the throat of the beast in two powerful hands, hands with the strength of a desperate man in them.
    Then he throttled the beast, threshing him back and forth in his rage, lifting him clear of the ground, his fingers sinking deeply into the hairy and gaping throat.
    The surprised canine seemed to realize that it was all over and while he continued to snap, snarl and growl, did not do so with his pristine vigor.
Breaks Beast’s Neck.
    The end came when Kautenberg deliberately twisted the head from the dog’s body, breaking its spinal cord and sending it spinning, weltering in its own gore and the pain of a death agony near the foot of Forty Steps.
    It is a combat such as entitles Kautenberg to recognition as the strongest, most daring and adventurous man in Waukegan.
Post a Comment