The Bessemer indicator., 1893-04-08
JUMBO. THE FIGHTER.
4 ronost rhKt Is Worth Money A. .
Front Rank Clawlst.

"Tomcats? Did you ever SEQ 'en
fght?n asked Jim Burns OF Globe
Democrat man. why. in my house
we hu-e jomcat | wouldn't take $50
for. We c..ll him Jumbo, jun for
short. .late-cui, ored sort of an old
fellow with never i. white hair on
him. Maltese blood, my youngest
boy says, and he has inves s'Spted the
wEcle eat business from "a to 'izatd.
In my town, rveS in Illinois, there
are generally about Two 'orncats TO a
! square. jun has his whole slrsrc
ID himself, He tolcrates no visiting.
He is very d1ict snd sleepy during
the day, likes e. bo nursed
and petted by the tEildrep
and purrs like tea-kettle when
you smooth him down. lie takes no
notice OF his several wives, morning
Or afternoon; in fact, submits meekly
yhen they spit AZ him and strike with
their claws ps he passes by, ~
nightfgll though. lie q transformed.
He goes on duty with ala5ri'y.
Fierce as ten furies, terrible rs he'll,
he Pstrols the whole premises, lies in
wait with green ayes under the cur
rant bushes, skins aiGug She fences.
creeps over the wood5hcd and other
| outbuilding5. crouches in 1.-THE cave
/ troughs, and from time to time emits
q yec-ow of defiaucc which makes tho
| old aouls shivcr in her bed, Some
| nights it's Yery hard not to shy
bootjack or { sOda bottle at him, but
| we know that he tends strictly 70 iis
own business and means no harm to
| the household
But he has Il rival in tho neigh
boring square Who from time TO time
comes over for a shinGr Hc Is
younger than jun, black as night
with Il tail about u yard long, which
has the motion Of serpent, lie has
d voice, too, with a human stop to it
"a voX humana they call It in organ
building, don't they? We'll, in tho
rise md fan of that prolonged note,
about the hour Of midnight. thoro is
morc,suggestions,oi ghosts hobgoblins
and horrors of that sort than any one
can well imagine who has not heard
it. | know some day that black eat,
with this voice and tail, will whip
jun.
Il saw them come together one
moonlight night not long ago, The
'yec-owing' began the moment they
caught sight OF each other. As they
slowly crcpt IN they stretched their
neck5 out of all proportion, elongated
their whole bodies until their bellies
scraped the ground; their heads
actually passed each other. but their
eyes glared sideways like Goals oi
fire. Suddenly jun feigned retreat
His adversary Immediately bounced
him, but when he got there jun
was on his back and ready for bust
ness.
"saw his tactics az once. He held
with his teeth and got in his work
with his hind legs. The fur flew | tell
you. They disappeared in the bushes
with ayell OF fury. ! don't know how
it came out, but next morning found
jun in the sun on the top rai' OF o
picket fence. He blinked kindly AZ
nc out OF one eye, the other being
closed. His right ear hung down
over his jaw. There were gouts Of
blood and spots of bare skin along
his sides, and / knew from the way
he hugged the rail that it had II
warm and soothing effect upon his
torn belly. The other cat must have
suffered, TOO, but he set mp his Old
song the next night, and, if he forces
the fighting, I know jun sooner OF
later will have to go under