Virginia free press. (Charlestown, Va. [W. Va.]) 1832-1916, 1886-07-29
Stories About Cats.

cat rode one hundred and seventeen miles
on hy-wheel of an engine: "The en-
gineer of the Star printing establishment
soon after starting the steam engine one
morning, noticed n white patch on the
inner surface of the drive wheel, which
he thought was piece of paper caught
by one of the spokes in its flight and
whirled round and round. The white
patch was noticed by several of the hands
during the morning, who accounted for it
in the same way, but no attention was
given to the matter until the engine was
stopped shortly after noon. As the wheel
stopped, the engineer was surprised to see
the white spot fall to the ground and then
get up and crawl away. He then, for the
first time, became aware that the white
spot which had been whirling in the fly
wheel was a cat which had been clinging
to one of the spokes of the wheel, and
had only relaxed its hold when the wheel
had come to a standstill. The cat SEEM
ed dazed for awhile, and was taken into
the street for free air."
A member of the London Geological
society says; 81 once had a cat who al
ways sat up to the dinner table with me,
and had his napkin round his neck and
his plate and some fish. He used his
paw, of course, but he was very particu-
lar, and behaved with extraordinary de-
corum. When he finished his fish,
sometimes gave him a piece of mine.
One day he was not to be found when the
dinner bell rang, so we began withouthim.
Just as the plates were put around for
the entree, puss came rushing up stairs
and sprang into his chair with two mice
in his mouth. Before he could be stopped
he dropped mouse on his own plate and
then one on to mine. He divided his
dinner with me as ] had divided mine
with him."
Mrs. Cashel Hoey in her "Book on
Cats" argues thus in favor Of anima! log
ic Every day, after breakfast, / made it
rule to throw bit of bread into an adj
joining room, as far off as | could, so as
to induce my cat to run after il as IT roll
ed away. This custom kept up for sew
eral months, and the cat always regarded
that piece of bread as the titbit Of its des-
sert. Even after it had eaten meat, 1t
would await with attentive interest the
minute when it was to start in pursuit of
the morsel of soft bread. One day i
held the coveted scrap in my hand, and
swung it about for long time, while the
cat eyed it with n kind of patient eager
ness, and then, instead of throwing it into
the next room, threw it behind the up
per portion of picture which was slight
" inclined forward from the wall. The
surprise of the cat, who, closely following
my movements, had observed the direc-
ton in which ] threw the bread, and its
disappearance, was extreme. The un-
easy look of the animal indicated its con.
sciousness that a material object travers.
ing space could not be annihilated. For
some time the cat considered the matter,
then it started off into the next room, ey-
identity guided by the reflection that the
piece of bread having disappeared, il
must have gone through the wall. But
the bread had not gone through the wall,
and the cat returned disappointed. The
animals logic was at fault again at
tracted its attention by my gestures, and
sent a second piece Of bread to join the
first behind the picture. This time the
cat jumped upon divan and went
straight to the hiding-place. Having in
spected the frame on both sides it began
to manGuvre 50 dexterously with its paw
that it shifted the lower edge of the pic
ture away from the wall, and thus got at
the two pieces Of bread.