The Roanoke times. [volume] (Roanoke, Va.) 1890-1895, 1891-08-07
ROUGH ON CATS.
e Novel Invention by Which They
Are Captured.
The Inventor Man of Genius Who Has
an Intense Dislike for the Feline
Race-No Moro Buck
Yard Concerts

The only Kecly's motor IS still In tho
ether, but the inventive genius of Phil
adelphia has not ceased to burn bright
~. a Philadelphia machinist, John J.
Chattaway, has invented device for
capturing feline minstrels. Quiet as of
the cemetery is absolutely essential to
the comfort of Philadclphian, but the
quaker cats have not rs yet learned to
mitigate their nocturnal concerts or to
temper their lovelorn lays They patrol
the fences and the back yards with the
noisy vehemencc of their kind, and
protesting Philadelphia waves It's night
cap and shouts and screams in vain but
the researches of the lI enious Mr..
Chattaway have shown ho>- to bell the
cat The part of the town Ii which he
lives, so writes an enthusiast in the
Philadelphia Times, lis tho arcadia for
all the lovemalling toms ani tabbirs
IN the neighborhood. On his back fence
and on the back fences of all his neigh
bors it has been the nightly custom,
rain or shine, for hundreds of nocturnal
providers to congrcgate and there hold
discordant revcl." Poisoned meat ond
spring traps were tried without effect
The cats laughed ct them. Broken
glass, barbed wire, and other a1nulcts
against the fcncehaunter were equally
useless. The cats continued thor vo-
ciferous proceedings, and the inhabit-
ants Sworc and suffered
In the slecplcss nights the brain of
Chattaway kept working Mt o plan for
conquering the invader Of his pence. 1t
came to him finally in q dream 'From
10 pc1- yNtt 1,s,
tomato cans, and out Of these supple
mcnted by roll of condemned roofing
tin, which a synpathizing ncighbor
kindly donated he manufactured con-
trivance that, if universally adopted,
will rob the funny photographers of ono
OF their most fecund sources of supply"
Ills completed device for ncat-compcllcr
is continuous strip of pyraInidal-
shaped tin, tho apex of the pyramid
being placed on top Of the fence Tho
base OF the tin triangle Is left open, and
ats sloping sides hang over the fcnco
and stand out from its face. AS the
apex of this tin roof comes to q sharp
point, and its sides are too smooth oven
for the claw holds Of cot, the result.
when tom or tabby attempts to cross
1t, is obvious. AS soon us their feet
strike the tin they are bound to slip
and fall on one or the other side Of
the fence is inevitable. : AS the tin sides
project beyond the face of the fence 1t
Is impossible for the fallen feline to
climb back to it's perch again"
The first nights catch is thus re-
ported:
ut was late Monday afternoon when
Machinist Chattaway finished mailing
his cat-compcller in place. and the Curl
Gus ncighbOrs wondered what il all
meant. Darkness had nearly fallen be-
fore the cats began to oongrcgate As
Machinist Chattaway's house Is near
the middle Of the block, his back fence
was sort of meeting place, md the
spot whcro all combats w'cro arranged
and fought out. The night was not so
dark as to prevent the confident in
ventor from witnessing tho result from
his library windows. The first cat TO
strike the compeller, gigantic tom,
sprang upon the tin coping with a meow
of disdain. Like a fash Toms maltese
body described q scmi-cfrclc, and, much
TO his amazcment, he landed in the
yard. Recovering himself, and with
his feline mood up, Tom grippcd the
fence and scram blcd upward His head
struck the projecting tin, and after one
or two futile attempts to get a claw
hold he slid back into tho yard, sans
spirit, sans mode, sans confidence. Tom
realized that he was a prisoner, and Law
low, uttering from time to time sub.
dued and mournful meow.
'lIe was not long without company.
A tabby was the next victim, and al
though he recognized her as IN old-time
sweetheart, and she identified him as
once-favored beau, neither had any
heart for love-maling, but crouched in
opposite corners of the yard, disgustcdly
blinking at each other. From that
time on until dawn cats came, and but
few escaped Those that were fortu-
nate enough to fall on tho alley side of
the fence scampcred away, with their
distendcd tails aloft.
Early the next morning the smiling
inventor softly opened his back door
and peeped out. BY actual count there
were seventeen cats In tho yard. Old
fighters and young fighters were hud.
died together. Misery had made them
forget their animositios, and they
greeted the machinist with frightened
stares and mournful whines. When he
opened the back gate they rushed out
into the alley and scampcrod away"
Cotton In bombay
In bombay. as in T,npcoeh}re s<Cot