The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1888-08-19
DOGS, CATS, BIRDS AND INSECTS.


TO Time by Journal Reporters.
IA a rule cats and canary birds do not get along
well together. but q WOODLAND household con-
tains an exception. Both are family pets and
are joint occupants Of the sittine-room. whore
the bird is often allowed to futter around a. it
plesses. Ii will frequently alight on the cats
head and start TO sing with the utmost vigor. to
the seeming delight OF the cat. which will purr
as IL keeping an accompaniment Sometimes
the latter will make a tour OF the room with tho
canary on its novel perch warbling q sort OF
march that forces the cat into step with the ca
dence OF the song.
John c. Smith. a Big Four conductor. living
on East South street. has . cat that il the won
der of the neighborhood, although its particular
faculty was the result Of On accident rather
than the gift OF reasoning. Tabby is in the
habit of sleeping in the house, but some time
ago. after enjoying an evening romp. it found the
usual mode Of ingress closed when it tried to
gain admission. An open transom over the
front door was a possibility that opened a way
ont OF the dilemma. aud the cat improved 1t by
.claDbering to the top. only to lose its foothold
and fall back TO the steps. In its descent, how
ever. it struck the door-bell and set il to ringing.
and q minute later tabby was admitted TO the
ball, while the servant was gazing into outer
darkness wondering who could have rung the
bell The cat was so we'll pleased with its sue
cess that a few evenings later, when it again
found itself locked out, it sprang up TO the bell.
pulled down the handle with its paws, and
gained admission az before. Since then tue ex-
pertinent has been repeated almost nightly.
-
The fy-fshermen who were in camp near
Eller's bridge two or three weeks ago tell Of q
rather singular fight Of gray moths. or millers,
that occurred one night about 9 o'clock. Two
large gasoline torches were suspended from
trees, and close to them was o table, around
which q number Of expsrts were sitting and ex-
changing experiences Of the day. Suddenly
their attention was drawn TO a slight murmur-
ing noise. that seemed to come from the river.
and, looking In that direction, they were amazed
to see what appeared. in the darkness, to be
large flakes of snow moving up stream towards
the lamp. The noise increased as the objects
came nearer. and in . minute the lights were
almost snuffed by hundreds Of Thousands Of the
white-winged insects. many OF which fell to the
ground scorched IN their conflict with the blaze,
while others f1uttered of to the water to DO COB
bled by the fsh. The fight lasted about half an
hour, and when it was done the ground under
the lights was covered to the depth of six inches
with . squirmine mass Of wineless moths. For
hours afterwards the splash Of the bass in -ae
river told OF the many that had escaped the
lights to meet destruction in an equally fatal
manner.
Near the corner of Virginia avenue and South
street there il Q msdium-size brindled bulldog
that has for its master q thirteen-year-old boy.
It is Of that short-tailed variety which always
seems to be going about with . chip Cd its
shoulder looking for some other dog to come
into it's territory and that never waits for an In
vitation to fight. but goes at its opponent with q
49, 49, - -- kL---l
. ve-y savage dog. the boy has it under COM
plete control and has trained 1t to do 90 many
tricks that 1t is almost . canine paradox in
itself. Leapiug SIX or seven-foot barriers, skip
ping the rope and Jumping through
graduated IN early infancy. Its latest feat is
TO Chamber TO the top Of a pyramid Of barrels
aud catch In its mouth o common baseball
thrown with all the force the youth can muster.
When the balls are wild, the dog stops them
with its feet and body. and when one rolls to
the pavement il jumps of the barrels and COR
rails it before it has quit bouncing. The dog Is
also patriotic and Is as fond OF shooting-crackers
as the average email boy. Last fourth of July
it was the center of an admiriug throng Of
juveniles who were amusing themselves by
throwing lighted hre-crsckers into the air and
then watching his dogship catch them as they
came down. They would frequently explode in
his mouth, but after savagely splitting out the
torn paper. it would close its teeth on another
with almost Satanic glee.
Will Baker. of Palm Springs, Fla, who, with
his wife. is visiting friends in the city, tells
some interesting incidents of bird and reptile
life in that citrus country. Poisonous snakes
said be, ARE extremely scarce In my neighbor-
hood, but plenty can be found in the swamps
ard along the water-courses. the most numer-
Gus being the water-moccasin. The ground rat
tier, the harmless blacksnake and the deadly
cotton-mouth can be seen occasionally. although
they are disappearing rapidly AZ the country be-
comes settled. The quserest thing in this line
is the gophsr-snake. 40 called because it lives in
the gopher holes. They are numerous, but
armless. and ara often killed for their skins.
These are cured with arsenic and sent north,
where they are tanned and made into every con-
ceivable novelty, the leather being quite soft
and plisbls and capable Of taking a beautiful
finish. / have seen rabbits. gophers and gopher
snakes all living in the same hole. and they
make a very happy family. indeed.
IN birds the shrike or butcher-bird attracts
the most attention on account OF its cruel and
murderous propensities. They are the greatest
enemy to reptiles We have. are very rapacious.
and have a stSong bill that is toothed at the end.
enabling them to hold fast to anything they
catch. When one Of them sees . snake il grabs
il inst below the head, shakes IL q few times
aud then dies to the nearest thorn tree. where
it impales the reptile. the bird at the same time
emitting a shrill cry OF exultation. It doesn't
seem to use them for food as have seen the
snakes hanging where they were put on the
thorns two weeks after the bird had caught
them. Plumage birds have almost disappeared
from the peninsula. having been slaughtered.
faster than they can breed. by the agents of
AGO blue herous. paroquets, eurlsws and other
birds of rainbow hue were plenty. but now it is
q rare thing 10 see one. Quails are increasing
as the timbered land becomes cleared. Millions
~ rv.sarforVl snsod tia wfnrap 18th M h-s -
the time they have run the gauntlet Of shooters
between the lakes and the gulf they are so
wild that they keep a mile away from anything
that looks like . gun