Daily press and Dakotaian. [volume] (Yankton, Dakota Territory [S.D.]) 1875-1880, 1879-11-06
She 9aily 2ress and gatstat1s
YANk DAKOTA
Thursday Evening, Nov. 6, 1879.
CARRIER CATS.

ss'x'a"s Take 'he Lsad-I"trodue,i.. Of
Now Enterprise.
Philadelphia Times.
The ingeniou. Belgians have turn.
ed TO practical account the
weli-known disp ,sltion OF the cat
to 90 home. The experiments
which have been tried with carrier-cats
have thus far proved largely successful.
From the city Of Liege three dozen Of these
creatures were taken in bags as many direc.
items for distance offs several miles. When
the bags were opened and the cats taken out
each cat was furnished with q written mes
sage to take home. These messages were
delivered safely, and with such promp.ness
that the cats were home again Il Lieke be-
lore the boys arrived who had taken them to
The various points from which they started,
h community was impressed with . sense
OF the loss incurred by society in previous
ages in allowing cats to lead The idle lives
they have heretofore led. 1t must have
been a beautiful sight to see three dozen cats
coming home. each with his package Of
literature fastened around his neck or tuck.
Cd under his paw or bandaged to his tail or
strapped upon his back, after the manner Of
John Browns knapsack. Such 4 panora-
ma Of cats, viewed from a business stand.
point, might we'll fill with joy the heart Of
The social economist.
Bat that which may be easily put into op-
Grafton in Belgium would meet with total
failure if attempted in our country. Under
the rigid rule Of the monsrchieal systems
ofthe countries Of the Old World even cats
are subordinate to authority, and travel in q
regular and orderly manner. In the land
of the free and the home of the independ.
ent the cats follow their own sweet will and
do as they please. True, their instinct is
the same, and their desire Of returning
homeward is AS great-that is to say, for
those cats who have homes. In the soul
Of the vagrant cat who has no home, and
who sleeps in a packiDgbox or a barrel, or
under a doorstep, there are no such deeires.
But the ease and freedom of manner of the
American cat t%horoughlydis qualify him for
success in the express messenger bust
ness. Let not the ardent lover suppose
that when he visits his lpamorata in the
evening he can, on departing, alp the fami-
ly cat in his overcoat pocket with the view Of
sending back to her whom his soul loveth
an epistolary announcement of his safe arriv-
al at home. That might do in Belgium, but
it will 20 work here. AZ surely as boys
sent on errands loiter by the way 10 buy
peanuts and gaze at the shop windows, 90
surely will the messenger cat pause ON his
journey to consult with others cats whom he
may meet. Sometimes it is simply for an
exchange of compliments. Sometimes it
is 10 engage in a singing match, the objec.
OF which is 10 see what cat can sound the
highest alto note. Sometimes it is to give
battle to strange cats which challenge def.
ance from lofty wall or sloping sheed. In
these wayside encounters the package Of the
messenger cat will be crumpled and torn and
badly naked, thoroughly demoralizing the
carrier cat business and demonstrating the
uselessness of the American cat as a beast Of
burden.