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| "The Loaded Dog" | |
|---|---|
| Short story by Henry Lawson | |
| Country | Australia |
| Language | English |
| Genre(s) | Comedy |
| Publication | |
| Published in | Joe Wilson and His Mates |
| Publisher | Blackwood |
| Media type | print (short story collection) |
| Publication date | 1901 |
"The Loaded Dog" is a comedy short story by the Australian writer Henry Lawson. The plot concerns three gold miners and their dog, and the farcical consequences of leaving a bomb cartridge unattended. The story was first published in the collection Joe Wilson and His Mates in 1901. [1] [2]
Three gold miners named Dave Regan, Jim Bently, and Andy Page are sinking a shaft at Stony Creek. The trio own a young retriever dog named Tommy, described as "an overgrown pup... a big foolish, four-footed mate." Andy and Dave, fishing enthusiasts, devise a unique method of catching fish using explosives. The dog picks up an explosive cartridge in its mouth, and runs the fuse through the campfire, prompting the three men to flee. Tommy, thinking it a game, playfully chases down his "two-legged mates," who try everything in their power to escape the cartridge. Jim tries to climb a tree and then drops down a mine shaft, meanwhile Andy has hidden behind a log. When Dave seeks refuge in the local pub, the dog bounds in after him, causing the Bushmen (people who live in the bush) inside to scatter. Tommy comes across a "vicious yellow mongrel cattle-dog sulking and nursing his nastiness under [the kitchen]," who takes the cartridge for himself. A crowd of dogs, curious about this unusual object, gather around the cartridge. The subsequent explosion blows apart the yellow cattle-dog and maims numerous others. For half an hour, the Bushmen who witnessed the spectacle are laughing hysterically. Tommy the retriever trots home after Dave, "smiling his broadest, longest, and reddest smile of amiability, and apparently satisfied for one afternoon with the fun he’d had.".
"The Loaded Dog" first appeared in the collection Joe Wilson and His Mates, published by Blackwood in 1901. [1] [3] The following year, this collection was published in Australia by Angus and Robertson. [3]
The story was then published as follows:
Along with many publications in various periodicals and newspapers. [2]
"The Loaded Dog" is one of Henry Lawson's most popular works. John Barnes cites the story as being illustrative of Lawson's talent for humorous writing, calling it a "hilarious farce." [1] Barnes further remarks that, despite focusing on the actions of the dog, "Lawson raises the story above the level of stock farce by making what happens the result of Dave Regan's bright idea." [1]
Henry Archibald Hertzberg Lawson was an Australian writer and bush poet. Along with his contemporary Banjo Paterson, Lawson is among the best-known Australian poets and fiction writers of the colonial period and is often called Australia's "greatest short story writer".
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Favourite Australian Stories is an anthology of Australian short stories edited by Colin Thiele, published by Rigby in 1963.
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