Pine Bluff daily graphic., 1896-11-15

acteristic instinet, he disputes every inch of the way with all intruders. Not only does it wage this war with the animals that visit the street, but with truekmen and their vehicles as well, It is the glassware houses which line either side of the way, however, that the cat re gards as his particular possession. In these he is looked upon as part of the assets by every firm.
 When q buyer from out of town reaches Murray street, no matter how many thousands of dollars worth of glassware he intends to buy, his first question is: "Where is that cooperative cat9?" And the glassware man, regard less of his anxiety to make a sale, is forced to hunt up the straying animal and exhibit him before the business talk goes on. Prices have been offered for him far beyond what even a cat of the finest breed would command.
 The coming of this eat to Murray streetwas as mysterious and unaceount- able as it's subsequent actions have been. One morning the head traveller for an important glassware establish ment was searching through the Mur- ray street house of the firm to find a valuable vase which he desired to show to a customer. He found more than he sought for the vase was overturned, and right in its wide. level mouth lay strange cat.
 Nobody had ever seen the eat before, no one could ever find out how he got in the store. But there he was, and there he has remained Within a week the animal had become a general pet, aud had special quarters reserved for him in almost every house on the street. He showed q strange preference. however, for glassware houses, rarely entering one of any other sort. He scorned ad- yances, too, and came and went as he pleased. ordinarily remaining in one store not more than day at a time. One firm tried to shut out competition by placing the animal on it's books at i yearly salary of $a6, to be paid at the rate of 50 cents week in meat and milk. But they had bargained without consulting the cat. and he met the act with an uncompromising veto, not en- tering the store for at least week
 The rights of ownership were finally settled after conference by the travel CTS representing the various glassware houses interested in his catship. An understanding was arrived at whereby each firm was to own an eqnal share in the animal, and each was to claim no more than it's proportionate part. Thus he became "The Cooperative Cat"
 At first it was thought that cat would damage expensive articles of glass ware, but this idea was soon dispelled 1t was noticed, too, that mice entirely deserted the street soon after his ar rival One satistician figured out that each firm saved S4e year, for the break ing of expensive bits of glassware by rats and mice has become an uuheard-of thing.
 Other tradesmen on the street tried to lure the eat away from the glassware houses, small boys stole him, policemen chased him, drummers tried to buy him as ''maseot:" but the eat always came back. and no matter how constant his wanderings through Murray street. he never has been known to voluntarily go step beyond. Evidently. too. he real- izes that he is e.'Fhe Cooperative Cat" for he divides his time between his owners IS carefully and as exactly as if he were human being in their em- ploy.