St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1891-11-27
ACTS THAT RETRIEVE.
They VIII Bring in Small Birds
That Have Been Shot.
"HiyeeI hiyee! Kittie!r

"Hiyeel hiyee! Kittiep'
Two large, fat cats came running
from the barn. straining every muscle to
answer the summons they had needed,
says the indianapolis News. One was
Stranger, tiger-striped, half Maltese
cat, with the prettieSt head and eyes
not in picture. The other was Tom, a
calico cat of black, white and graY: a
little less bold but more active than
Stranger.
These are nv pets" said Charles
Walcott, whose inimitable call is given
above, and which is so familiar to the
residents near the corner of Illinois and
Second streets, where Mr.. Walcott's
home is, as the gOngs of the electric cars.
but these are more than mere pets"
continued Mr.: Walcott, as he caressed
them, to the intense dlspleasure of Max.
MS water spanlel. These cats are
hunting cats, and retrieve small game
better than the best trained dog.
There's Max. good retriever, but he's
not in it with my two pets here. Is hep"
addressing the cats. do you want a
birG?''
The cats evidently did. for they
rubbed Mr.. Walcott's trousers and
mewed so beseechingly that their own
or stepped inside of the door of his
house and seized a small rifie-barrel
Flobert gun. The sight of this brought
the cats and dogs both on their hind
| legs. the cats crying and the dogs bark
ing in anticipation of sport. But Mr..
Walcott has been busy in his neighbor-
hood for many weeks. and it was some
time before sparrow was found.
| When the gun was sighted both cats
| and dogs crouched, lashing their tails
| from side to side. Their eyes watched
| the sparrow as It sat unconsciOusly in
the tree. and at the snap of the car
fridge Stranger was on the spot to get
| the bird as it fell. OF course. it must
be parenthetically said, Mr.. Wal
colt never misses bird. He's been
shooting too long to do that. But
though Stranger got the bird she had
to relinquiSh her claim 10 Tom, who car
rIed it away and munched it regardless
of the annoy nee which Max kept up.
| Another bird was found after much
searching. Mr.. Walcott shot this one
at distance of forty feet. and Stranger
brought it back to him in d jiffy. For
the performance she got the bird as
| lunch.
Now. that is sample" Mr.. WaIcott
| continued, setting his rifle down, 'Of
the instinct that has been educated into
| these cats. The mother cat, Stranger.
| Is 50 naul0Q because she came mere one
| day dirty and abused kitten. Ny chill
| dren petted her, and had to keep her.
| Tom is her kitten, aud instinctively fol-
lowed his mother when we went spar
| row hunting. until he knew how to re-
| trievc as we'll as his mother.
''hOw did | teach them? 1t was some
what accidental. Being sick and con-
| fined to the premises, used to shoot the
| sparrowS for sport. l would give them
to the cat, and thus she learned to fol-
| low me whenever l had my gun in my
hands. Whenever she had eaten one
bird she would drop the rest near me,
and now both she and Tom take it for
granted that the first bird is for them. |
believe that cats, properly trained,
would make better retrievers than dogs.
My cat Stranger will follow a wounded
bird until it is exhausted, or will go up
in tree after one. have seen Stranger
follow bird block until it dropped.
She knows, and Tom knows, too, when
bird is wounded. They work together
DeautifullV.o