The recent icy conditions of the city's sidewalks, roads, puddles and lakes reminded me of a late-19th century New York story I stumbled across in the archives of the NYT : On January 30, 1893, a large crowd of predominately women and children gathered on the shores of the iced-over Reservoir in Central Park. Of interest was the phenomenon of a seemingly distraught dog circling the icy waters. The dog seemed to run the same circles and zig-zag patterns over a great swath of the reservoir, not stopping during the day nor the night for four days. Debate as to how to rescue the poor fellow grew vigorous, as the ice was thin and too treacherous for a human rescue. Some wanted to shoot the dog to put it out of its misery or to stop it from fouling of the waters, as the lake was the source of usable water for many city residents. Members of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals were on the scene to safeguard the animal. Efforts to whistle and cajole it back to shore or b
A strolling guide to New York City by Teri Tynes