The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1874-01-27
ERMS $500 PER ANNUMIN ADVANCE.
The White Plains Cats,

Two ancient Thomas cats, the property OF
Two antlquated maidens, met in White
ialns aliey on Saturday. There was an in
s.ant recognition, and the perambulaton
ceaseu. lnese cats had been inveterate enc
Iliies. N1s. both had seen hard times. In his
10y 10y .,,etine s,e,1 one mad lett six inches and
nall OF his tail on butchers bock as a se-
curlty for piece of meat which he aitemnted
to steal. In his haste to vacate a Kitchen sbelf
where ne was tapping cream one dav no
landed on red-hot stove, and toasted h;s
paws. Some time afterward he had ME
understanding with the family dog and lost
several ounces of flesh and fur. The other
Thomas cat had not yet recovered from a mill
wherein his old gray head had been battered
nd pitted by the claws of his companions. His
ears, wilted by the winters frosts, had never
regained their erectible power, and lay par
TALLY iecumbent on his head.
When these cats stood face to face the tail
and half which they collectively owned
;ere swollen TO twice the natural size. The
fur on their backs stood up like porcupnes'
quils, their spines curved upward, they
gaashed their teeth and gave the war whoop.
Their embrace was energetic and nstantan-
eous, The battle was fierce. the dust rolled
high, fur flew, and small children soampered
nome. In neighboring yard, two country
dogs, in town ON business, were exploring
prlsed in their enterprise by a pan of dish
water, and abandoned the place by short
cut across lots.
They were soon in where the cats were
fighting, and bore down on them at an
alarming speed. The cats divining that tbe
dogs were enemies, ran away with the tail
and half erect. The dogs saw the cats fee
ing before them, and taking advantage of the
cats misrepresentation, changed their race
from one OF fright to one Of fun. Up Rail-
road avenue went cats and dogs, everybody
clearing the way and clapping hands. The
dogs pressed the cats hard. One cat ran up
BARRIERS pole and perched on temperance
sign. The other bounded into buggy ami
sought refuge on the horses beck. Unaccus-
toned to such familiarity, the horse sprang
forward, buiting another horse in the head.
Both horses thought they had good reason to
be frightened and a fair excuse for runaway,
and off they started This pleased the dogs,
and they Joined in the race. The cat on the
horse looked serious and held his position.
The cat OH the temperance sign looked re-
signed and innocent. As the horses wheeled
into the street they encountered a peanut
stand on wheels, but an instant aflerward il
was on the ground and the air was thick with
peanuts. Every small boy stopped to grab q
handful before exercising his limbs and lungs
after the runaways. The horses ran across
the railroad toward the Fair Ground. Oppo-
site pickle factory one of them fell. The
horse behind with the cat on his back fell
over the first horse. The cat was dislodged
and ran into the pickle house, followed by
the dogs. The cat escaped the dogs fury,
but has not been seen in town since. The
horses We're net hurt, but the wagons will
need reconstruction. The authorities are
talking of a suit for damage against the own
ers of those dogs.