The Cecil Whig. [volume] (Elkton, Md.) 1841-current, 1870-01-15
Bakers Cat.
A CALIFORNIA YARN.
BY MARK TWAIN.

| Speaking of Sagacity reminds me of Dick
Baker, pocket-miner of Deadhorse Gulch.
Whenever he was out of luck and little
down-hearted, he would fall to mourning
over the loss of a wonderful cat he used to
own, (for where women and children are
not, men of kindly impulses take up with
pets, for they must love something.) And
he always spoke of the strange sagacity of
that cat with the air Of a man who be-
lieved in his secret heart that there was
something human about it-may be even
supernatural.
heard him talking about this animal
once. He said, Gentlemen, l used to
have cat here by the name of Tom
Quartz, which you'd took an interest I
reckon-most anybody would. had him
here 8 year-and he was the remarkablest
cat l ever see. He was large gray one Of
the Tom specie, and he had more hard,
nat raj sense than any man in this camp
and pouer of dignity-he wouldn't let
the Gov'ner of California be familiar with
him. He never ketched rat in his life
'peared to be above it. He never cared for
nothing but mining. He knowed more
about mining, that eat did, than any man l
ever see. You couldn't tell him nothing
about placer diggings-and as for pocket
mining, why he was just born for it. He
would dig out after me and Jim when we
went over the hills prospecting, and he
I - e.,
five mile, if we went so far. And he had
the best judgment about mining ground
why you never see anything like it. When
we went to work, he'd scatter a glance
around, and if he didn't think much of the
indications, he would give look as much
as to say, "Well, I'll have to get you to
excuse nee" and without another word
he'd hyste his nose into the air and shove
for home. But if the ground suited him,
he would lay low, and keep dark till the
first pan was washed. and then he would
sidle up and take look, and if there was
six or seven grains Of gold he was satisfied
he didn't want no better prospect than
that-and then he would lay down on our
coats and snore like steamboat till we'd
struck the pocket, and then get up and
superintend.
"Well by and by, up comes the quartz
excitement. Everybody was into it-every-
| body was picking and blasting instead of
shoveing dirt OH the hill side-everybo body
was putting down shaft instead of scrap
ing the surface. Nothing would do Jim
| but ice must tacls the lodges too, and SO
we did We commenced putting down a
shaft, and Tom Quartz he began to wonder
what in the Dickens it was all about. lie
hadn't ever seen any mining like that be-
fore, and he was all upset, asyou may say
! he couldn't come to right understand
ing of it NO way-it was too many for him.
He was down on it, too, you bet you-he
was down on it powerful-and always ap-
| peared to consider it the cussidest foolish
ness out. But that cat, you know, he was
aluays agin new tangled arrangements
somehow he never could abide EN-. You
know how it is with old habits. But by
and by Tom Quartz begin to git sort a
reconcled little, though he never cou!d
| altogether understand that eternal sinking
! of shaft and never panning out anything.
At last he got to coming down in the
shaft, hisself, to try to CIPHER it out. And
when he'd get the blues, and feel kind o
scruffy. aggravated and disgusted-know
| ing as he did that the bills were running
no all the time and he warn't making 8
| cent-he would curl up on gunny sack il
the corner and 60 to sleep. Well, ono day
when the shaft was down about eight foot
the rock got so bare that We had to put il
a blast-the first blasting we'd ever done
since Tom Quartz was born. And thcn We
lit the fuse and clumb out and got off about
20 yar,ls-and forgot and left Tom Quar-
sound asleep on the gunny sack. In abou
a minute we seen puff of smoke bust ou
of the hole, and then everything let G.
with an awful crash, and about four mil
lion tons of rocks, dirt and smoke ant
splinters shot up about mile and hal
in the air, and by George, right in thu
midst of it was old Tom Quartz going enc
over end, and a snorting, and. sneezing
and a clawing and reaching for things lik
all possessed. But it warn't 10 use, yo,
know. it warn't no use. And that was tn
last we sec of him for about two minutes
and half, and then all of sudden it be
gin to rain rocks and rubbage, and directl
; he come down kcr-whop about ten foo
from where we stood. Well, reckon h
was p'raps the orneriest looking beat yo
neck, and his tale was stove up, and hi
eye-wnkers was signed off, and he was a
BACKED up with powder and smoke, and al
sloppy with mud and slush from one end
the other. Well sir, it warn't no use t
try apologize-we couldn't say word.-
He took sort of disguised look at his
SELF and then he looked at us-and it wa
lust exactly the same as if he had said
"Gents, may be you think it's smart t
take advantage of a cat that amt had II
experience of quartz mining, but l thin
different and then he turned en- his he'
and marched off home without ever sayin
another word.
"That was jest his style. And may
e YOU won't believe it, but after that yo
a never see cat SO prejudiced agi
quartz-mining as what he was. And b.
and-by when he did get to going to tt
shaft agin, you'd been astonished at h
sagacity. The minute we'd touch off
! blast and the fuse begin to sizzle, he'd gi'
a look as much as to say: Well, I'll ha,
to get you to excuse me-" and it was su
prising, the way he'd shine out Of that ho
-, and go for tree.
:. "Sagacity? 1t amt no name for it
y Twas inspirationr'
said, "Well, Mr. Baker, his prejudi
against quartz mining ,oas remarkable, CO
sidering how he came by it. Couldn't "
ever cure him of it ~
4 Cure him. NO. When Tom Quar-
J. was sot once, he was al,oays sot-and y
might blowed him up us much milli
+mes and vou,d neyer a hroke him of I