The true northerner. [volume] (Paw Paw, Mich.) 1855-1920, 1874-04-03
killing the Cat.

She was n dreadful cat. She killed
chickens, and sucked eggs, and stole
cream, and jumped on the table, and
caught the little birds, and growled if
you looked at der. She had not a
single lovely trait. Why, she wasn't
even worth naming, and We never called
her anything but Capt. Ingraham's
old cat
At last we couldn't bear her any
longer-Augusta and I. My mother
couldn't, either. We had to keep the
cellar windows open to let in the air,
and that old cat was always getting i'll
and eating up things. She had eaten a
whole brood of chickens, and the oriole
that had built for four summers
in the same swinging nest in our big
gest elm-tree, and Hates canary; and
at last, one night she came through the
cellar window and ate almost the whole
of the fresh shad we were going to have
for dinner the next day-grandma S
birthday, and the minister coming
My mother said then that there must
be a stop put to it. SO l went over to
Augusta. found her in the front hall
rocking and knitting and hummng,
Just as she almost always was.
broad door-stone among the woodbine
old cat any longer. Ma says so"
"Well, no more can we. She troubles
us like everything, and L despise her.
But father won't kill her. think he is
afraid to. And Fred, he won't just be-
cause want him to. You can't do any
thing with brothers" replied Augusta,
looking so old and so wise that /, who
never had brother, was torn with envy
and admiration.
For a minute she knit without rock.
ing, while L pulled grass and waited to
hear what she would say next. Augusts
was two years older than |, and that
counted for as many as a thousand in
those days. She could knit whole
stocking and toe it off, and she could
make biscuits and get supper, and
thought she could do everything. But
L wasn't prepared after all, for what she
really proposed doing this time.
"What do you think p said she sol
EMMY, Cant you and L kill her our
selves Drown her? They say drown
ing is a very easy death. E"
"Of course we can" said /, stoutly.
If Augusta had suggested drowning
her in the Red Sea l should not have
made an objection, expecting she would
find way somehow.
"Say we do, then. You be catching
her while L knit into the middle of my
needle" returned Augusta.
"Well. She is out there licking he1
chops in the sun on the back door-steps
/ can see her old gray tail now," said L
starting up.
But the cat started up, too, just al
though she had overheard me, and
blinking at me out of her greedy yellow
eyes, she skunk off under the corn
house.
We wasted the best part of an hour
and more milk and soft words than W,
had given her in all our lives before
and then she wouldn't come out.
1t was not till the sun began to dro]
behind the west.lot woods, and tn
frogs had piped up in soft, full chorus
that we had her fairly shut up in tn
kitchen bedroom. Then Augusta pro
ceeded to make very stout bag wit
four-paste and the last weeks Gazette
81 will double it, so as TO have it aw
full strong" said she, turning down tn
edges and dabbing them with the paste
Anu u stone. we uuSI uaNe IL btOu
to sink her ; n smooth one, not too big
we can get one off the garden well an
a rag to tie it up in the old dishclot
will do /; my mother is going to have
new one"
We were soon ready. We tied th
stone in one end of the dish cloth, an
the other end Augusta fastened aroun
the poor cats neck not too tightly
we wouldn't be so cruel as to drown he
and choke her to death, too. Then W
put stone and cat and all in the bal
and started for the little pond benin
the house.
In the summer there was no pond
all, but in the spring time and aftt
heavy rains the drippings of Deer Hi
and the overflow of the swollen spring
on its side made quite a respectful
stream, where frogs lived merrily, an
blue vlolets and innocence came dow