The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1896-04-08
TOLD IN A FORECASTLE.
How Wildcat Became Pet and
Turned Sailor.
Helped Navigate the VesseI-Climbed tn,
Rigging, Learned the Ropes and As
sisted in Reefing the Sails
His Singular Fate.
IcoPYRIGHT. 1861

"'Minds me-" said old Johnson, from
his bunk-we had just turned in after
chasing the shippers cat out of the fore
castle-"of wildcat 1 was shipmates
with in an English bark. A tom wild
cat twas; he'd go aloft an help stow the
fore-t' gallansl."
'Thot's lie!" grunted Pat from the
bunk beneath.
The old man reached his head out and
peered down on his offending critic.
Hostilities were imminent, but various
cries of ''Shut up, Pat, ct the old
man alone" $50 on, Johnson" and
others of like nature from the other
hunks silenced Pat and placated John
Son.
EYES," resumed he, sits fact; that
cat 'ud go aloft with us. He knew his
work on a yard, too, better'n some men
I've been with since;" and at this direct
thrust at Pat, who had passed an ear
ring incorrectly in our last reefng
match, he chuckled audibly, while Pat,
as though in silent protest at such
claims of superior seamanship in cat,
rolled over ON his side to go to sleep.
One or two of us threw out some hints
In the way of questions as to the name
OF the bark and the color and size of the
cat, knowing by experience that a di-
rect call for a yarn would be ignored.
The old man filled and lighted his
pipe, and then, kicking his bedding up
over his knees, settled back and reeled
off the following:
EYES," he began, "the cat was a won
der; we got him out on the Californian
coast long before Frisco was thought
Of We ran short of water and put into
a little bay, let go the mid-hool, and the
mate took some of us and some casks
ashore to try and find some. We found
a creek of good water close by, and on
our way back to the boat for the casks
we ran ag'in mother wildcat with two
kittens. She snarled and spit at us, and
was just bout to jump when the mate
plugged her with a bullet; she thrashed
around some and killed one kitten with
her claws, but we got the other and took
him aboard for pet.
"Well, we got to sea, and the kitten
seemed to take to sea life first-rate.
Everyone petted him, and the mate
wouldn't allow anyone to tease him;
so, as he didn't get any fresh meat, he
didn't get savage. He had a good time
and made friends all around, and as he
got bigger would chase round decks
lust as common cat does when it feels
good.
''One moonlight night he took run
from the quarter clean forward and up
the riggin' half way to the fore-top;
then he couldn't get down, and yowled
so pitiful like that one of us went up
and got him. He thought that was
great fun, and did it again, and kept on
doing it; but we couldn't be bothered
going after him every time. So one
night the mate says: Let him stay
there and get down himself So we
let him stay the whole watch, yowlin'
all the time, but no one paid any atten-
ton to him. Bimeby, Ion bout eight
bells, he stopped yowlin', and made up
his mind to try it himself, SO he hitched
and scrambled and managed to get
down all right. Then he walked aft
kinder dignified like. We thought he
was sore on us for neglectin' him So
but he wasn't; he was only proud OF
what he'd done, and little stuck on
himself-but then, he was young.