Grand Rapids herald. [volume] (Grand Rapids, Mich.) 1892-1959, 1892-09-03

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brouxhS - = sszstdal ,ksSlli 70 tk.s 4
or,s =. Dto~lng fr1sn tAe uaEthes.st.
~ o--o~-s5sf' zxciala-led lie cd NJ 4
5.-s feIlne. add lsr eSes SffEss=re.t strange
o. her l.ai began " expand. AMI her ven 4
s3lbLs far re Ga bs< back
Way. graz IA, inquired oas q The 4
yoouger cabs, q arzsare uazi,ien rab5s Il +.
aneeF -saln 4zs. ~sny, SrAa ia. What AIS 4
yo4
~ ee-os-oygS' rephed tlse old Mates +
eat saa-G. ~Wee-o~-cw J sulel earnipl" 4
N0N the other clts a4<l head about cas-
nip. out had 1eTer seq @ny. Iae Jales
y nieh tine M.4llszse eat had Told about her
eE. leFisnees STA Lle tl4FCriJe ~-ed u-alorc
she ielt her alveahood home ia Mains lad
ouel haunted around as1z5ug the osher cats
1f Colorado - qsaiug isgeuds. All ne
other zsta had board led 4 the sauele
si3Ges "a ezEuitt bag noae hs.l ever beheid
~ even wttled tho grateful hero.
- aeEes Asset ~ ezlry yoang CATS IN
eloras.
-Oa I daa'E kn1N repl.ed chs oh Nal
tsss cas-, ~8at Z can SMELL il. ALL / "a going
"a follow up tbs tru3. unsil Cad IL.
With these plTtsutous words the Old
Maltsse eat whlsket her tail gave Wild
Wee ON .slid started on a run for Doa-
yer, 80 miles away
~ ee-os -ow," cried the other eats-and
the kittens too-and III they started for
Denver. giving rae old Maltese hos race
over hill aud vaIley, peak and plain, cad
and ~OId
The word passed arognd. aud the cry
went up here aad there Ike wildfire, Cat
nip. catnip, catnipi We're going 10 get
ffrffr.sra b.ai A 1atfaos
"a, and ran along tie whole of the mountain
range OK Colorado. The excitement was
inteasas-cs.ts hurried from every house,
cabin, barn, staole. she'd and mine, and
joined the vast procession. Every city,
town. hamlet anl camp was instantly de-
serted By is cat population Such yOwI
az had never before been heard, such 4
seething army OF eats had never been seen
The miner Ia his lonely hut, hearing the
awful rush, -prang from his cot and cried:
The snow slide the snow slide Run for
your lives" But IL was only the cats on
the gull0p 20 Denver! Oh. II was a pro-
III ious spectacle, and tine old Maltese cat
led the van!
Judge Toll was dreaming pleasant
dreams that night, when he was awak-
ened thercfrom By din which threw him
into a cold sweat He crawled out of his
bod. slipped anxi0usly into his trousers,
seized his faithful shot gun and stole softly
70 the window The strange noise seemed
10 come from the front yari-yes, from the
rows Of caCnip bushes.
Then the Judge peered out OF the win
dow. and what do you think he sawp
Myriads of cats-billows Of catsl Cats of
every size, weight. color, sex, condition
aud description Black cats, white cats,
Table cats, Maltese cats, tortoise she'll
cats, bTindle cats, spotted cats, striped
cats, brown cats, yellow cats, mauve cats,
gambOge cats, long cats, short cats, tall
eats, fat cats. lean cats, stump tailed cats,
one cared cats, wall eyed cats, three legged
cats, mamma cats, papa cats and kittens
Oh, yes. kittens of every kind and without
numberi Aud there they were in Judge
Tolls front yard, among and on the rows
of catnip bushes-purring, sprawling- yo~l
ing like so many demons.
"Pur-r-r." said the old. wayback Maltese
cat, all the way from Del Norte--"purr-r-r
ohi isn't this lovely It's the first catnip
I've had IN going on twenty-five years
purr-r-r. thank heaven that l have lived
to see this grateful fruit introduced into
the Rocky mountain region!'
And then all the other cats-there must
u
chorus 50 loud that it sounded hike an
awful. lingering peal OF thunder. But this
was not oil. Oh. no. By the bright moon
light Judge Toll could see myriads and
myriads of other cats surting down from
the mountain ranges and through he val
leys and over the plains-fror1 George
town, Salida, Idaho, Golden, Boulder,
Crested Butte. lineup, San Juan, Pueblo,
Chucharas, Bnena Vista, Conejos, Duran
"a, Manitou, Leadville, Ouray, Huerfano,
Kokoma, Monument, Rositsh Saguache
aud Trinidad-the foothills were alive with
cats, the mountain peaks swarTned with
cats, and cats cats, cats swept along hike
a swiriing torrent toward one focal point,
Judge Tolls catnip bedl
And, LOT the cats were coming from other
directions, too-from the arid plains Of
I kAnsas and from Deer Trail, from Monot-
ony Water Tank and from the dreary CON
I fines of Nebraska The breeze blowing
from the north brought the NOISE of vast
armies of cats on their way from Laramie
and Cheyenne
The cats already in the judges front
/ yard-how they purred and writhed and
yOwied. and bow the srarks Of electricity
j shot from their furry backs as theyrubbed
9ffectionately up against the rows of cat
nip Il was in tact a carnival cat sat
urnaliai
The judge said To himself, II win shoot
In among al these treSpassers and drive
them away. What right have they todev-
astate my beautcous eNOtics7'
But then came the second better thought
WOald IL not be cruel 10 deprive these
creatures Of the long denied pleasure they
were now enjoying in the catnip bedf None
of thom, save the odd Maltese had ever tie
fore seen or tasted she precious herb; they
kne~ 81 IL Only from tie legendary lore
wish which the Old way back Maltese cat
hal RECALLED them. their fathers, their
mothers. their grandm0thcrS, their grand
fathers. ard 80 on al iufinispm.
And The more Judge Toll thought il
over the more he became satisfied that he
ought. in all humanity. 20 let tho cats stay
and enjoy the catnip. SO az last he went
back 20 his bed and renewed his slumber
a. best be- could
When he got up next morning and looked
into his frunt yard nota cat was 20 ssesn,
oor YET vestigr Of thu oatnip either. The
Hrf was widely rent and torn up, and
every leaf. tSrfg. sVrig aud root Of estnip
had disappeared 1t was oonjectured that
The cats took Il al away with them. They
must have had q terrible battle over The
remnants ~ the feast. for here and theirs
sn the de=poiied turf lay eyes and ears AMI
bats 81 tails aud tufts u fur silent bat
eloquent evidences Of the hast tragic scene