St. Paul daily globe., 1890-03-24
CHANGED into A CAT.
Terrible Experience That Be-
fell a Young Man in
Pennsylvania.
How a Gentleman for Several
Days Became in Ap-
peapance
One Of the Feline Family
Description Of a Weird
Metamorphosis.
His Feelings as Related by
Himself to a News
paper.
Philadelphia Times.

Lhl4dNCipAid 1lluCSs
have been cat. 1t does not mat
ter, for the purpose of this story, how L
came to be thus changed, for was born
human, whether it was by drinking an
unknown elixir or by some mysterious
physical change. but the change did
happen, and propose to tell of my ex-
perience as one of the abused feline
family.
On the 2Sth of February, 1879, an ad-
vertisement might have been seen In
some local paper calling for information
of the whereabouts of young man,
but so worded as to be ineligible to
none but himself. That young man
was myself, and all the time l was shiv-
ering on the kitchen doorstep trying
with piteous mewings to attract the
kind notice of our cook. How | got
there, as have said, is no matter, but
at last the door opened and | walked
in. All my feelings were hu-
man, and distinctly remember hoping
that the saucer of milk | saw the kind
hearted IriShwOman preparing would
be clean. Eagerly l Tapped up the
liquid, and then could feel my lips try
ing to form the word thanks. Then the
bitterness of my situation for the first
time burst upon me. i could notSpeak.
| was indeed beast. The house serv-
ants now began to stir about. The little
page who waited on the door came in,
and all began inquiring of the cook
where l came from. The story was soon
told, and felt that / could remain with
safety.
A Battle With Terriers.
Suddenly the door opened and two OF
my fathers terriers rushed in. They
sprang at me and felt the hair rise on
my back. had time to give one a rake
with my paw across the nose that sent
him bowling into the corner, and never
shall forget the satisfaction | had at
seeing the blood flow. Then the cook
drove the other away and l made my
escape up stairs. l wanted to see a
mirror. ] wanted to see if 1 was a
handsome animal, and eagerly did l
spring on the ledge of the hall mir
ror add take a good look at my
self. Yes, l was a beauty, and the
pleasure of such knowledge went a long
way to reconcile me with my unhappy
lot. Presently down came the family
to breakfast, and l can still hear my
mothers exclamation of "Where did
that cat come from; hate catsT All,
dearest mother. you will never know
the pain that unconscious exclamation
gave me. The Waterman told them how
came, and my father said in his kind
way: "Let the poor thing stay; it will
keep the house clear of MICE" That
settled it, and | rubbed my back against
his leg, the only way l could show my
gratitude.
A Favored Inmate.
For several days | was a favored In
mate. At night l retired to the laun-
dry, and. perched upon a high table,
slept secure from the terriers attacks.
All this time, though mice were plenty,
l felt no desire to catch one. l was
too human. At last, one day the cook
discovered that dress of hers had been
eaten full of holes by mice, and as she
was commenting upon my laZiness a
mouse ran directly in front of me. l
made no attempt whatever to secure
what ought to be my natural prey, and
it proved too much for the cooks good
temper. Selling broom. was igno-
miniously driven from the premises.
All that night l wandered trying to find
shelter; the cold March wind whistled
and howled. The movning broke, and
still / could find no resting place. Cold
and weary, skulked up the dark alleys
and smaller streets; here scaling a
fence to escape the cruel small boy,
there darting through water hole to
avade the still crueler dog. Days passed,
and still little food and no shelter.
could feel myself growing weaker. l
had wandered to the wharves, and,
sneaking beneath pile of boxes, pre-
pared to surrender the last of my pro-
grew the weather; sitter and sitter
could feel my limbs become.
My Death.
Now my hindquarters are numb and
senseless, and l could feel the deathly
chill creeping slowly up. At last some
thing has gripped me at the heart,
when / heard a rough voice exclaim,
"Hello! here's cat" and with a long
swing, in spite of feeble effort on my
part to assert that L was still alive,
was pitched into the iee-cold water.
The sudden shock revived me for
moment, but too late. l was ut
terly exhausted, and with feeling of
unutterable peace | sank beneath the
water. The next day L, clothed and in
nv right mind. walked up our front
steps, rang the bell and went in. The
delight of the family was, of course,
gratifying, but begged that no Ques-
tions be asked concerning my absence,
and though | know it seemed strange,
no comments have been made. This is
the first time / have found courage to
tell of the strangest experience that any
man in this country has passed through
and lived to tell of.