The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1880-03-24
A Comical Cat.
One Of the Tricks Of Trade Played by
Designing Dog.
IN. Y. Times.1

IN. I. Hines.
There are many interesting anecdotes Illus
trating the wonderful intelligence of the cat,
and among them we can find striking evidence
of the cats complete lack of humor. There
was large Maltese cat, the property of a
prominent washerwoman of Chicago, who con-
trived scheme of supplying his table with
choice mice without personal exertion. He
made the acquaintance of an active and in
telligent terrier, and employed the latter to
catch mice for him, paying for them in bones.
The cat collected a large stock of bones, which
he kept in the hollow of tree, out of reach of
the dog, and never produced until bargain
was consummated. A large fiat stone served
as counter, and on this the dog would deposit
q mouse, when offering it for SALE The cat
would examine the mouse closely, and would
affect to disparage it. The dog would insist
that it was a remarkably fine spring mouse,
and, rejecting with disdain the cats first offer,
would ick up the mouse and pretend toacarry
it away. Then the cat would call him back,
and after long discussion and much sharp
bargaining an agreement would be reached.
The cat would then climb up to his bone safe
and bring down the amount of bones agreed
upon, after which the dog would retire, leav-
ing the mouse in the cats possession. The cat
was far from liberal in his dealings, and the
ruling rates tor good averaged-sized mouse
were one chicken-leg bone or two wing-bones,
carefully denuded of meat, 1t is evident that
he must have made profit of at least 100 per
cent. on these transactions, especially as he
stole his entire capital of bones; but such is
ever the way in which the cunning and un-
scrupulous impose upon the honest and hard
working.
One day the dog brought for sale particu-
larly attractive mouse. He claimed that he
had caught it in a menagerie, and that it was
an imported, short-tailed mouse of immense
value. The cat was evidently taken vii h the
appearance OF the mouse, but at first refused
to offer more than the regular price. At
length, after much sharp language and pro-
family, a bargain was struck and the cat paid
an entire rib of roast beef with quarter of a
pound of good meat adhering to it. No sooner
had the dog obtained his pay than he broke
into wild barks of delight and turned somer-
expected conduct, the cat carefully investi-
gated his new purchase, and to his great dis
gust found that the imported, short-tailed
mouse was merely an imitation made Of fan
mel, and grossly adulterated with sewing silk
Now the dog was completely carried away
with a sense of the enormous Joke he had
played on the penurious cat, but the cat could
not see trace of anything humorous in the
proceeding. He swore freely and was so en-
ragged that he attempted to assault the dog,
who promptly thrashed him and drove him
into tree. Even then the cat failed to be
amused, and there is no reason to believe that
to this day he has ever understood why the
dog laughed
This is conspicuous instance of the cats
lack of any perception of the humorous, and a
thousand equally truthful anecdotes can be
told by any inquisitive zoologist, if it is made
an object to him.