Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1871-01-26
A Row on Top OF a Row How the Fur
Flew, and how "Fur'' it Flew.

The fact that Mr.. Oliver lived in
uniform row of houses in the Fourteenth
Ward, says the Philadelphia. Sunday Dis
patch, was the reason why he was unfor
tunate. One moonlight night last week
the noise made by the cats on his roof was
simply awful. Mr. Oliver trying in vain
to get asleep, and grinding his teeth in
rage until at last the uproar overhead
was unindurable. Mr.. Oliver crept out
of bed softly, 50 that his wife would not
be wakened. He put on his slippers,
seized boot with each hand, aud clad i'll
the snowy robes of night, he opened the
trap door and emerged upon the roof.
There were thirty or forty cats out there
holding kind Of general synod in the
cool of the evening, enjoying the en-
bracing air and singing glees. AS Mr..
Oliver approached, the cats moved over to
the next roof. MIR. Oliver advanced and
flung boot at them. They then ad-
jou.ned suddenly to the summit Of the
adjoining residence. Mr.. Oliver pro-
iected AL ether boot, and went over after
his first one La this manner the synod
retreated and Oliver advanc ID until the
last of the row of twenty bouses was reach
ed, when the cats arranged themselves in
line along the parapet, rutaed up their
fur, curved their spines aud spat furious
ly at Oliver. The bold warrior gathered
up his boots and determined to retreat
lie walked back over a dozen houses and
descended through trap door. He went
down stairs to his bedroom and opened
the door. There was man in the room
in the act of walking up and down with a
baby. Before Oliver had recovered from
his Armament, the man flung the baby
upon the bed, and Selling revolver be-
gan firing upon Oliver. 1t then dawned
upon Oliver that he hal came down the
wrong trap door. He proceeded up
stairs again suddenly, the man with the
revolver praticing at him in a pain
full manner. When Oliver reached the
trap door he shut the trap quickly, and
stood upon it. The man fired through
the boards twice and III N hooked the ,or
upon the inside moment after Oliver
heard him spripging a watchman's rattle
from the front window. AS soon as the
ueighbors knew there was man upon
the roof, they all few up stairs and tas-
tended their trap doors and Mrs. Oliver
fastended hers, with the firm conviction
that some predatory william had entered
while she slept aud stolen her Oliver
When he tried the door it was fast, and
Mrs. Oliver was screaming SO 6ercly he
could not make himself heard. By this
time the street was filed with policeman
all of whom were blazing away at Oliver
with their revolyers, while the young
men in the houses across the street kept
up steady fire with pistols, shot-guls
aud miscellaneous missiles. Oliver, with
every advantage of forming an opinion,
said that Gettysburg was mere skirm ish
to it. He hid behind the chimney and
lay up against the brick to keep himself
warm, while the policemen stationed
themselves all around the square to cap =
ture him when he would slide down the
water spouts. But Oliver did not slide
He sat out on the roof all night, with the
bitter air striking through his too trifiDg
garments, listening to the bowling cats
and thu occasional shouts of the picket
line below, aud thinking of the old Jews
who used to pray from their house tops,
and wondering if Mussulmen were ever
shot at, or bothered with airs and police
men when they practiced their evening
devotioDs on their roots and then he
wondered how it would DIV to take off his
night shirt and wave it over the edge as
flag of truce, He concluded not to,
because Of the danger of bullet from
some misguided policeman, not Familiar
with the rules of war. When day light
came the neighbors rallied in crowd,
armed with all kinds of weapons
from howitzers down, and mounted to the
roof. Oliver was taken down and put to
bed, AMI he now has more influenza for
man of his size than any other citizen of
the Fourteenth Ward. He says he is
going to move as soon as he gets well-he
is going to move into house that IS
next door to uobody's, house that stands
in the middle of prairie of some kind,
and he intends to stencil his name in
white on the trap door.