Essex County herald. [volume] (Guildhall, Vt.) 1873-1964, 1877-10-20
A WONDERFUL CAT.
Thei Lively Interest She Takes In Chicago
Fire Alarm Matters and Those Having
Charge of Them.

The, Lively Interest She Takes In Chicago
Fire Alarm Matters and Those Having
Charge of Them.
There is a cat at the fre-alarm tele-
graph Office in Chicago that deserves a
place in print This cat is of the fem
mime persuasion, albeit the boys and
the "night gang" have given her the
uneuphonious and opposite name of Pete.
Pete has been at the fire alarm daily and
nightly ever since the third day after the
big fire. She came in, kitten, with
the hair upon her body in spots, and
sat down deliberately upon the desk of
the Superintendent. She looked up in
his face, as much as to say, " am a suf-
ferer, have been burned, and here l
am" Pete was caressed and fed, and
from that day to this she has never gone
back on the place that took her in. The
points that make Pete remarkable fe-
line are several in number. She is con-
versant with the workings of the COM
plicated machinery of the Office. When
the watchers are changed in the Office,
which occurs at four o'clock P. NJ, mid
night, and at eight o'clock A. NJ, it is the
custom for the men coming on as relief
to test every instrument and find out the
condition of the multitude of lines that
stretch throughout the city. This cat is
on deck at the change Of every watch,
and goes through the very same move
ments of the relief, so far as she can.
She puts her nose up to the register; she
creeps along the easement and puts he1
velvet paws upon the relays; she does the
same thing with the galvanometers, and
purrs gently against the switchboard.
She leaps over to the repeaters and looks
upon the dials, and then climbs bach
among the wires to see, apparently, what
their condition is. When she has fin
ishsd her tour of inspection; in this room,
she goes out to the battery apartment
with Paddy-Paddy is in charge of the
batteries, and not another cat, as NIGH
be inferred, but for this explanation
and carefully follows him through hi'
inspection of the multitudinous jars
When an alarm of fire is turned in, she
comes galloping to the front, and jumps
upon the repeater, where she remains
till the fire is "struck out" Pett
seems to be the soul of watchfulnes:
at night, and watches the movements
of everything or body that stirs. 4
few nights since two of the gang haC
gone to the armory, a few blocks soutl
of the fre-alarm office, in search o
news. On their return they met Pet
on full run, with her nose southwark
and her tail turned toward the stars
She recognized the couple, and imme
diately turned and dashed back to tn
alarm Office. One of the gang said t.
the other, "There's something up.
eyes," said the party addressed, "Pete'
tall" But the inveterate joker wa
choked down and hurried off to find Pet
sitting on the dial of the telegraph in
strument, which was bringing dispatc
f,.N,rn- q dihtn,,+ CT, h. etnfion nnnyayinp th
intelligence of a shooting affair. Th
night operator says when he received tn
message he made this remark to his as
sistant, "Wonder where the gang is !?
and the assistant replied, cat the Arm
ory," and Pete, she that was sitting i
the window, darted away in that diret
ton. That she knew what was up seem
: evident from her conduct in returnin
when she met the gang. These pecr
J liarities of this cat, which may seem Gk
an attempt at fiction, are most unqual
fiedly true.