Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1871-04-18
A Midnight Chase after Clt5.

/ eOOhtu WuIu, SAYS INC 1nliauelDnld
Sunday Dispatch, was the reason why
he was unfortunate. One moonlight
night Int week the noise made by
cats Oh ais roof was simply awful.
Mr.. Oliver lay in bed trying in vain
to get to sleep, and grinding his
teeth in rage, until at last the uproar
overhead became endurabe. Mr.
Oliver crept out of bed softly, so that
his wife could not be awakened. He
put on his slippers, seized boot in
each hand, and, clad in 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 bracing
air and singing glees. As Mr.. Oliver
approached. the cats moved on to the
next roof. Mr.. Oliver advanced aud
flung boot at them They then
adjourned suddenly to the summit of
the adjoining residence. Mr.. Oliver
projected another boot and went over
after the first one. In this manner
the synod retreated and Oliver ad-
vanced until the row of twenty
houses was reached, when the cats
arranged themselves In line along
the parapet, ruftied up their fur, curv-
ed their spines and spat fu.iously AZ
Oliver. The bold warrior gathered
up his boots and determined to re-
treat.
He walked over a dozen houses
and decended through a trap door
He went down stairs to his bedroom
and opened the door. There was a
man in the room, in the act Of walk
ing up and down with baby Be-
fore Oliver had recovered from his
amazement, tho man flung the baby
on the bed, and Selling a revolver
began firing rapidly at Oliver. 1t
then dawned upon Oliver that he
had come down the wrong trap dor.
He proceeded up stairs again sudden
ly, the man with the revolver prac
ticing at him in most painful man
ner. When Oliver reached the door
he shut the trap door aud quickl;
stood upon it. The man fired through
the boards twice, and then hooked
the door upon the inside. A mo-
ment after Oliver heard him SPRING
ing watchman's rattle from the
front door.
As soon as the neighbors knew
there was man on the roof they
flew up stairs and fastened their trap
doors, and Mrs Oliver fastened hers,
with the firm conviction that some
predatory villain had entered while
she slept, and stolen away her Oliver
When he tried the door it was fast,
and Mrs. Oliver was screaming SO
fiercely chat ha could not make him
self heard, By this time the street
was filled with policemen, all Of
whom were blazing away at Oliver
with their revolvers, while young
men in the houses across the streets
kept up a steady fire with pistols,
shooting guns and miscellaneous
missiles.
Oliver with every advantage for
forming an opinion, said that Gettys-
burg was a mere skirmish to it. He
hid behind the chimney, and lay up
against the bricks to keep himself
warm, while the policemen stationed
themselves all around the square TO
capture him when he should slide
down one Of the water spouts. But
Oliver did not slide. He sat on that
rooS all night, with the bitter air
circulating through his too trifling
garments, listening to the bowling
cats and the occasional shouts from
the picket line below, and thinking
of the old Jews who used to pray
from their house tops, and wonder
ing if Musslemen were ever shot at
or bothered with cats or policemen
when they practiced their evening
devotions on the roof. And then he
wondered how it would do to take
off his night shirt and wave it over
the edge as flag of truce He con-
cluded not to, because of the danger
Of a bullet from some misguided pO-
liceman not familiar with the rules
of war When daylight came the
neighbors rallied in crowd, armed
with all kinds of weapons from how
itzers down, and mounted to the roof
Oliver was taken down and put TO
bed, and he now has more influenza
for 3 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 20 no.
body, house that stands in the mid
die of a prairie OF some kind, and be
intends to stencil his name in white
on the trap door.