Rock Island daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1886-1893, 1888-09-05

Cat and the Dying Child-Peculiar Co
incidences-why Do Dogs Howl Unda-
the Windows of the Sick?
Do animals have some mysterious psyche
logical intuition of the approach Of death TO
the family in which they are domiciled2 1t
would seem so from the many cases on record
in which domestic animals have acted in q
strange and excited manner Just previous to
the decease of some member of the house
hold Sir Walter Scott frequently alluded
to this feature of the dumb creation. Edgar
Allan Poe wrote frightful tale of a black
cat Truth and superstition have both been
called upon to help contribute these remark
able stories to the literature of the past.
There are people today who believe tho cat is
invested with the power of the evil eye; that
| the purring tabby of the freside will suck
the breath of a sleeping infant, A well
known professional nurse of this city who
has an investigating mind gave her expert
ence to q reporter.
Il am not superstitious," she said, "but I
am never called out to nurse in a new place
| without feeling glad when | learn that there
is no cat about the house. l find it impossi-
BILE to divest myself of a feeling of fear that
was grounded in me when child. An infant
member of my family was dying There was
a great scratching and mewing at the door,
and strange cat walked in when the door
was opened. 1t was great, wild looking
creature, and it crept stealthily to the side OF
| the sick child, which it regarded with the
most serious attention
IN AWE STRUCK TONES
''Then it went slowly out, and my motheI
said in awe struck tones:
1.-The child will not live
The little one died the next morning."
"What became of the catIn
'It remained with US and we could not ge
rid of it. For long time it was constant
source of annoyance. At last We put it int
bag and took it away. l suppose we wer,
afraid of another superstition-that if W,
killed cat We would always have bad luckl
as that the only instance you know of I
cat forerunning deathF'
mo. / knew a family where the younges
child, boy of Is, had a pet cat which h
had raised himself He was out one da,
playing, when the cat walked into the parlo
and standing before the sofa mewed piteously
1t was impossible to drive the animal fron
that particular spot or stop its cries. A littl
later the child was brought in dead-he ha
been drowned-and was laid on the sofa q
the very spot where the cat had criedn
Il have had great trouble with my sic
people," remarked the same nurse, ''fror
. dogs, bowling under the window
Cannot that be prevented by claiming u
. the dogtn
| & - ole l,of 81, hor
known dogs go long distance to sit an
howl under window where some one We
lying ILL"
How do you account for thatT'
81 have heard it said by people who ha
looked into the matter that it is the unusuI
light and noises that disturb the dogs. The
there is another theory that the powerf,
sense of smell in these animals enables the
to detect in the atmosphere odors noxious
Them
AN APPALLING SOUND.
"Have you ever noticed any peculiar r
- suit from the bowling of a dogf"
Nothing but the nervousness and depre
Is sion of the patient. l must say it is an a
palling sound to hear at the dead Of night.
have known the patient to recover in sever
i, cases. In one, death had already set in, al
| it was a favorite house dog that howl
| all night Even if one has no superstition,
/ causes thrill of fear to hear such mela
choly and unusual sound"
II is well known that bats are feared a
Stunned by nearly every one and are us
as designs to presage disaster and i'll luc
The Indians believe that birds contain {
parted spirits. They consider this partic
Is larly true of the partridge and dove.
races have superstitions concerning bir
n 1t is believed to be unlucky if bird a
into a room and out. Here is true circu
n. stance which recently happened;
lis A lady boarding with her husband at
hotel in Chicago was seated after dinner
her private parlor when dove few into
room, circled it once or twice and few {
again. The lady looked at her husband a
said:
he ''If were superstitious sho1ld say Il
Ie' we were going to hear bad news"
Of The gentleman smiled and went on read
Of his paper undisturbed, But in less than
vi an hour a servant raped at the door bri
ing the mail Only one letter lay on
plate he extended, but that had wide bl.
re border 1t brought to the husband the nj
of the first death in his family for ms
years-that of his eldest sister.
N Now the flying in of the bird was with
Is doubt the merest coincidence-it was a W
All later than the death actually occurred,
it gave an impressive seeming to an old SUI
stition and emphasized the receipt of
rS tidings-Detroit Free Press.