The Penn's Grove record., 1886-01-16
BUSTER, THE SAILOR CAT.
He Deserts the Navy and is ignominI-
ousIy Struck or The Roll.

stray puss may select as a home is sure
of smooth seas and favoring gales If puss
is we. treated. But woe to a ship that
the sorriest pusS deserts, and woe to the
sailor who hurts a cat at sea. Misfor-
tune follows hard after them both.
Buster is about as fine a cat as ever
went to sea. He belongs to Lieut.
Commander Joshua Bishop Of the United
States ship Minnesota, at the foot OF
| West Tweuty-seventh street, n. Y. He
has been in almost every port in Europe.
Africa, and South America, and as q
result Of his varied experience and eX-
tensivc travels has a distingue air and a
blase expression that no Fifth avenue
cat can match. The affection Of the
| average seagoing man for his cat is
a mere nothing compared to the deep
and abiding affection with which Lieut.
Commander Bishop cherished Buster.
Until the 9Th Of December Buster SEEM
ed to reciprocate. He slept in the Com
mander's stateroorn, ate under his table,
and lay in wait to claw him playfully
for true heart and not for harm, On
the 18th, however, Buster eloped and de-
serted the ship. Personal search and
advertising failed, and the crew made
everything shipshape for the calamity
that was coming.
On the seventh morning after Busters
fitting the sentry on the pier heard a
faint mioW, that seemed to come from
the plank beneath him. He called the
first officer. The miow was repeated.
cts him, sill, " said the sentry, and the
first officer yelled "Buster!" III stentOr-
ian tones. There was an unmistakable
Busterian yowl in answer, and, after
two sailors had taken a boat and craWled
under the pier on the stringers, Buster
was dragged out, the most wObegOne
and penitential cat that ever wore fur.
But there was enough Of him left to
save the ship, and the Commander was
so glad to get him back that he forgave
him, and sat down and told a reporter
all about Busters life N the ocean
wave.
Buster was born in March 1879, as
Portsmouth, Va, where the Command
Ell got him. His first effort at useful
ness was to dig up a bedful of phlOx
seeds that the commanders wife had
planted. This gave him the additional
name of PhloX. In December, 1880,
MI. Bishop was ordered to Europe as
executive officer of the United States
ship Galena. Buster went along too.
Before sailing the ship went into dry
dock at Baltimore, and Buster ranged
around the city and saw a good deal Of
Baltimore society. Thence the Galena
went to Norfolk, and Buster had more
society, and left some of his right ear
there. From Norfolk to Gibraltar Bus
ter stayed below. The reader who re-
members his first voyage will sympathiZe
with Buster. As 500 as he saw land
through a port, Buster emerged from
his retirement, and took to climbing up
the.rigging and sitting at the crosstrees,
From this elevated station he saw the
ports of the Mediterranean, Smyrna, Sa-
lonica. the island Of ChiOs, where the
Galena went to relieve the earthquake
sufferers, Athens, and MesSina. At
Constantinople Buster had thoughts of
turning Turk, and, indeed, made "
al oyertureS to this effect. But the
population received his advances coldly.
From ConstantinOple the Galena went to
Bordeaux, and here Buster led the life
Of a debauchee. He had the run of the
town, and on any fine evening might be
seen on the streets, and often on the
%quincunxeS, the grand square where the
military promenade. Bordeaux is the
heart Of the wine trade, and here 1t was
that Buster learned to drink Claret like
milk. Before he was wholly democrat
lied by the gay life Of France the Galena
was off again. and Buster with her.
for Tangier, Naples, Malaga, Leghorn,
Valencia, and Palermo: then to Villa
Franche, and thence down the African
coast to the Canaries, Sierra Leone,
Cape Palmos, Cape Verde, and back to
| where the peak of Teneriffe rises grand
| and desolate from the waves; to Madei-
IA. and then to Alexandria, where the
English were getting ready to lombard.
Buster spent a month basklng III the
Egyptian sun and rambling about the
ship, elcvating his tail whenever he saw
one of the 200 refugees that had taken
shelter on board.
From Alexandria the course was
straight to Rio, South America. Bust
er had lived so high in Bordeaux that
when the ship struck blue water and
the fresh meat and claret gave out and
nothing was to be had but salt junk, he
utterly refused to eat anything. His
admirers were in despair. Canned
corned beef hadn'ta charm, and devilled
chicken made him angrier thanarefugee.
Lieut.. Bishop said to him one day, when
he had refused food for q week:
Buster, I'm sorry, but you will have
to starve, old boy, for all l can do for
you"
Buster did not say much. He only
| Co7sr ta1al tho / farr4anaV+ Itt1a 1DlnaT
than ususl, and started for the ships
hold. In ten minutes he came back
with a rat, and after spreading the
rodent out for inspection, he made n
meal off it. When the ship reached Rio
there wasn't a rat in the hold.
Buster was always sick in rough
weather, and would crawl into the Com
mander's bunk and lie there in wretch
edness until good weather. When
ashore Buster assumed the airs of a
Nelson, and impressed his fellows Is a
man-o'-war's cat, but in reality he was
the most arrant coward about guns,
When there was any firing he would
scoot UP the rigging to the crosstrees,
and after a wild scramble would dart
down the shrouds and take refuge in the
darkest corner Of the ship, There he
would cover for hours until the Com
mander came to find him.
After returning TO America. Buster
lived in Washington, in Phillipsburg,
n. j., and New York. lie was fright
ened by the salutcs fired IN honor of
Nice-PreSident Hendricks, and as soon
as possible ran away from the ship.
There WAS rejoicing on the gun deck
-