Beverly banner. [volume] (Beverly, N.J.) 1877-1964, 1889-10-12
A TlPpllNc FELINE THIEF
Fate of Cat That Stole Liquor from
Clippers Lazarettc.

Jumpers bstZafebic.
Capt. James Pride, of the famous
old Baltimore clipper Orinoco, relates
that on his voyage from the Philip
pine Islands he shipped at Manila a
cook named Caleb Saunders. who pos
sessed a wonderful cat This cat was
coal black and was called jerry His
master was almost as black as the cat.
and this, it seems, was source of dis
content among the ships crew. Even
the first mate objected strongly, OH
the ground that it was the time of year
when the nonsoons are blowing
from Madagascar to the Cape-and
that a black cat aboard ship was an
unheard of violation of the mandates
of Providence
But Capt. Pride is man of strong
character, and Caleb Saunders was
known to be an excellent mixer of
fshballs. 1t was like throwing a copy
Of the Scriptures overheard to Tighten
ship in a storm; but Capt Pride was
firm, and the ship sailed out OF Manila
with the weird pair. From the second
day out the prophecies of the crew
seemed to be fulfilled. The Orinoco
was driven out of its course by fierce
storms, and went scudding toward the
coast of Borneo For days at time
the captain remained on deck without
wink of sleep, SO perilous was the
ships position, and to add to the hor-
ror of the situation strange and awful
thing happened Every night the
black cook INDUCED in hidcous
drunken orgies He would prance
around the deck, his white eyeballs
flashing at each flare of lightning.
Frequently he would be seen at the
foretop, shrieking and disappearing at
the hurricane, his black cat leading
the way in devilish emulation.
Where Caleb Saunders procured the
liquor was a mystery that none could
solve The third mate held the key
Of the lazarette and he was man of
irreproachable character The galley
and the forecastle were searched, and
even the chicken coop was under sus-
picion, and still no trace of fermented
drink was discovered.
Day after day the storms continued
and night after night the cooks un-
holy revelry was repeated. He was
thing Of awe and adherence to all on
board
At last there came a sudden break
N the carnival of debauchery. The
black cat Jerry disappeared one morn
ing and was supposed to have fallen
overheard. Caleb Saunders sobered
up with amazing suddenness. He was
inconsolable from grief and despair,
pacing the deck and beating his breast
in agony.
Then the gradual approach of de
iirium tremens was noted, and as the
second sun went down after the loss of
the cat the black cook, mounting the
mizzenmast, with wild bowls cast him
self yelling into the dark waves. The
horror stricken crew saw his body
dance upon the crest of a huge billow
and sink like plummet into black
abyss:
And then the heavens seemed to let
loose a tempest more terrible than any
that had come before. Wave after
wave swept the deck, carrying all be-
fore it. Every moment seemed the
ships last. Amid the height of the
din the wild shrieks of the lost black
cat were heard. They proceeded from
the lazarette, where the stores were
kept. The crew were paralyzed with
dismay, and even the face of Capt.
Pride blanched with sickening dis
trust.
AT last the morning dawned upon a
sea white with foam Then the first
mate summoned up courage to unlock
the door Of the lazarette, whence tho
cries of the black cat still proceeded
He peered cautiously in. The lazarette
had one window, which possessed no
glass, but simply small bars Of iron,
about four inches apart. The bottles
of Jamaica rum which had stood
along the ample shelves were all gone.
A few of them lay smashed upon the
floor, while dancing in fendish glee
among their debris was the black cat
Jerry, wildly intoxicated.
With set look upon his counte-
nance the mate reached in and, selling
the animal by the tail, cast him into
the boiling deep
From that day on the weather mod
Grated until the Orinoco sailed the
rest of her voyage in summer seas
Savannah News.