Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1883-01-19
Misffllane0ns.
A Blipd Cat.

stipct under difficulties, is noble speci-
men of the genus Felis. Dido is his name.
given for simple euphony, without regard
to gender. During the four years OF his
life he has never been known to do any
thing wrong, unless it be to fight most
desperately against all feline intruders.
In some one OF his many encounters, Dido
met with an injury to one of his feet. that
made surgical operation necessary. from
which he recovered, but shortly afrerward
went totally blind. A eateract was formed
over each eve, by which, as repeated ex-
periments proved, vision was thoroughly
obscured.
The calamity came on suddenly. and
placed the cat in circumstances not pro-
vided for BY the ordinary gifts OF instinct.
What to do with himself was plainly
problem hard to be solved. He would sit
and new most piteously, as if bemoaning
his condition and when he attempted to
move about, he met with all the mishaps
that the reader will be likely to imagine.
He ran against walls. fell down stairs.
stumbled over sticks. and when once
on the top rail of the fence he would
traverse Its entire length. seeking in vain
for safe jumping-off place. On
dered as if not knowing whence the voice
come nor whether he should go to find the
one calling. In short, Dido's life seemed
hardly worth living. and We were serious
" plotting his death, when the cat himself
concluded that he must make his other
senses atone for the loss of sight.
1t was very curious to watch his expert
ments One of the first of these was con-
corning the art Of going down stairs. In
stead OF paving the air, as he had been
doing on reaching the top step, he went
to one side till he felt the banisters touch
his whiskers, land then, guided, thus. he
would descend safely and at full speed
turning into the hall on gaining the last
step. One by one he made each familiar
path study, determined the exact loca-
ton of each door, xplored anew all his old
haunts and seemed bravely resolved to be-
gin life over again. The result was so I'M
expectedly successful that we were de-
ceived into the notion that sight had been
restored But by placing any obstacle in
the path and then calling him eagerly to
his customary feeding place it was evident
that he was entirely blind, for he would
run with full force against the box or other
obstruction, and then. tor some time after
ward, he would proceed with renewed
caution.
Dido's ..voice is always for war;" and
his blindness does not make him any less
successful in his duels with intruders. He
even goes abroad in quest of adventures
and comes safely home again. His value
as a mouser does not seem to be in the
least diminished. One of my experiments
as to his capacity in this direction came
near costing me dear. | had heard the
gnawing OF rat in an old closet where
lay quantity of newspapers. Here it
was decided to leave Dido over night, and
while arranging the papers for that pur-
pose my hand was suddenly caught by the
claws and teeth of what at the moment
seemed like small tiger. Poor Dido !!
He really looked ashamed of his blunder
in installing my hand for his anticipated
victim. Fortunately the papers served as
a shield. or the injury might have been
more serious. may add that, on OPEN
ing the closet next morning. there was
Dido mounting guard over slain rat as
big as ever spoiled good provisions or
tried a housekeeper' temper.
1t is well known that the house cat will
find its way back from distant places to
which it has been carried blindtolded !;
and how it performs such ieats natural
lists have never satisfactorily explained.
The theory accepted by some of them is
that the animal takes note of the success
sive odors encountered on the way. that
these leave as distinct series of images
as those we should receive by the sense of
sight, and that, by taking them in the in
verse order from that in which they were
received, he traces his homeward route.
But, in the cat now described, the sense
of smell is by no means acute, as has been
proved by variety of methods and more
over, although, as one might say. per-
petually blidiolded. he quite uniformly
chooses the shortest road home, without
reference to the path he may have taken
on leaving the house. Curious to see
how far this homing instinct would ex-
tend, took advantage of a tall of snow
that wrapped under its mantle every
familiar object, concealed all the paths,
and deadened every odor and sound.
Taking Dido to considerable distance
from the house. and making a number of
turns to bewilder him. | tossed him upon
a drift and quietly awaited results. The
poor creature turned his sightless orbs
this way and that, and mewed piteously
for help. Finding at length that he was
thrown entirely on his own resources. he
stood motionless for about one minute.
and then. TO my amazement, made his
way directly through the untrodden snow
to the house door, which, it is needless to
add. was promptly opened for the SILVER
ing martyr to scientific investigation, to
whom consolation was forthwish offered
in trimming bowl of new milk. My
conclusion. therefore. is that Wallace's
ingenious theory OF accounting for orien-
tation by what he calls ''brain registra-
tion." will not explain what has been de-
scribed. but that the mysterious homing
faculty is probably independent of such
methods of gaining knowledge as have
been ordinarily observed. and is analo-
gous to the migratory instinct controlling
the long flights of some species of birds.
"Golden Medical Discovery" is not only a
sovereign remedy tor consumption, bu, also