The Cecil Whig. [volume] (Elkton, Md.) 1841-current, 1894-08-18
MISCELLANEOUS.
"SCAT."

|
little idea OF my own when l lived
in Iowa several years ago. Enrich
Us wi'h the tale OF your bright young
Ii,nd some other time,
Yes, returned Peters. it does very
well for you to say that but my story
was going 10 be a true one
Young man, answered Jones, you
seem to forget that | am your former
teacher. The memories OF the dis
trict school at Hemlock Hollow
appear to be deserving you.
| Give us your story, Jones-give
us your story, said Smith encourage
ingly.
l was going to, replied Jones. 1t
was a number OF years ago. l was
living out in Iowa near Des Moines.
My place was on the Des Moines
river bottom and the bluffs were
literally alive with wild cats. The
wild cats from all over the country
seemed to be in the neighborhood
that year holding a wild cat worlds
fair--a fact, gentlemen. | had a
fancy stock farm, and between the
resident and the visiting wild cats
they played the very deuce with my
blooded chickens. | do not need TO
tell you, gentlemen, that | am mort =
ally afraid o. gun.
Seems to me that's pretty serious
admission for a man who only last
night was telling how, down in
Arkansas, he used to spring up bears
! with I inch hickory plank and
shoot them on the wing, like clay
pigeons, said Jackson Peters.
An idle tale, Jackson, an idle tale.
A man must relax sometimes. As
| was
But you offered 10 Bet $50
that
| couldn't shoot those wild cats,
you see so what could | do? Night
alter night they walked off with my
choicest fowls. One dav a bright
idea occurred 10 me. 1t was moth
ing more or less than every time |
heard any disturbance among the
chickens to put my head out OF the
window and call out "scat!" in loud
| voice.
The narrator paused and looked
at ackson Peters dehantly. But
Peters only blew cloud of smoke
ceilingward and arched his eyebrows
slightly.
That was clever notion, observed
Robinson very clever notion
Worth to rank with your plan for
extracting the latent energy from
tramps.
No, Robinson, no, answered Jones
smiling and evidently much gratifed.
No, you are too kind. My tramp
idea showed genius; such things
come to man but once in his life
time. This was simply an indication
of special talent for dealing with
wild cats. Still, if you would
believe it, my plan proved utterly
valuless as tar as frightening the cats
away was concerned. | seated
myself hoarse every night ior a
week still those wild cats went
right on carrying away my poultry.
But felt that the principle was a
sound one, and | looked about for
the weak point in the application of
it. soon found it.
was employing the same volume
OF "scat" for wild cats which is used in
the case OF tame cats, and wild cats
are three times bigger than tame
cats. My first thought was of a
speaking trumpet, but l soon decided
against it. determined to make a
clean sweep of the whole matter.
sent to Chicago and got an improved
Edison phonograph with intensity
ing attachments. | sent the intensi-
fer at a ratio of three to one. |
then shouted battery Of seats into
the receiver IN my natural tame cat
driving voice. wound up the
clockwork and set the phonogragh
near my hen house A small wire
CONNECTED the clockwork with the
hen house. so that a cat entering
the door would set the phonograph
off, causing it speak once | went
TO bed, gentlemen, and slept soundly
till morning.
! 4hitSi III CahidSt my lOl Sludl tOlu
me that at about midnight, when
the first wild cat started to enter the
chicken coop to ieloniously abstract
my poulty, that phonogragh sort of
cleared its throat and remarked
Scat in a voice which ratified the
windows Gentlemen, my foreman
was man in whom | had the ut
most confidence, and he told me
that after that phonograph spoke he
observed long gray streak OF wild
cat reaching from my hen house
door to the underbrush about 200
yards distant. The same phenom
enon was noticed by my foreman
in The case OF subsequent cats l
lost no more chickens through the
depredations of this obnoxious form
of vermin.
Jones paused and lit his cigar,
which had gone out. He blew all