The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1897-01-17
rrss MAnsIE,s oURIoU s CAT.
10 Came from the R,rs or sism's Palace
,,d II, Like NO Other In America

ut Came FROM the ktnr OF stsu's rs'so'
..d IL Like no Other In America
There is a cat in the little village Of Bedford.
westohester county. that has a curious history
and Is said to be the only one OF Its kind In Amer.
lea. BY . coincidence In name the only cat OF
the kind in England is In tho possession Oh
the Duchess Of Bedford.
The westchester cat is owned by Miss Marine.
This is the story that Miss Marble tells about
the cat: Her brother. Frank Marble. an officer
on the cruiser New York, went TO Slam some
years ago on the Petrol. When the Petrol
dropped anchor In the port OF the capital city
the queen had Just died, and. according to tho
custom Of the country. the body was to be In
cinerated. The officers OF the Petrol landed
aud. being Americans, received permission TO
20 whore they plea sed. They naturally sought
tho palace grounds. Mr.. Marble was attracted
to the royal stables. and struck up an acauain-
tsnce with tho head groom, a Dane. The head
groom was in trouble. In fact, he had rendered
himself moro than liable to the royal dlspleasure
through some violation Of rules laid down by
the King. The Captain Of the Petrol was In
high favor with the King. and through his good
Offices. the head groom got immunity. The
gratitude OF the Dane knew no bounds. Ho
asked the Captain what he could do TO show
his appreciation Of what had been done for him.
It happened that the Captain he'd been told
by the head keeper that there was q wonderful
kind Of cat In Siam. The King was exceed
ingly fond Of the pets and would not allow any
of them to be taken out OF the kingdom. Tho
cats were kept in the royal stables and the
head groom was their keeper. The Captain
said he thought n present OF n pair of the siamese
cats would repay him Cor his trouble. Tho
head groom thought awhile. because the loss Of
the cats might be discovered. In which event he
might as we'll resign. He consented to furnish
them finally. on the condition that they should
be carefully wrapped up and smuRgled on board
tho Petrol. This was done gu ccessfully. the
Petrol departed, and the King didn't discover
his loss. With the maio and the female cat
wsrs four kittens.
The Petrol sailed for the Pacific Ocean, and
on the voyage two OF tho kittens died. The
Petrel's sailors became very fond Of the cats
and taught them oil kinds Of tricks. In tho
Pacific Ocean the weather was intensely hot
and the papa cat developed an intense longing
to get into all sorts OF places In order to keep
cool. One OF his favoritc spots where he re-
tired to sleep In the long. close nights was on
the end OF one OF the Petrel's guns, just over
the outboard; One mornlne when the Petrol
was missing. The sailors hunted high and low.
but he could not DO found. A sailor, more per-
sistent than the others. looked at the end OF the
gun and saw some scratches on the paint. That
settled II. Poor Siamese. Tom had slipned OF
from nIs ptrllOus perCn, ihllcn INTO the water,
and been swept away by the tide. This accident
left tho mother cat and the kittens sor the
Captain, subsequently tho Petrol was ordered
to tie New York Navy Yard. There Mr.. Marble
was surprised one morning TO receive from the
Captain q note to the effect that he could have
one OF the Siameae cats. lie obtained tho
mother cat. One Of the kittens was sent 10 a
friend OF the Captains. and II died. The other
kitten was sent to the Central Park collection
and II also died.
The sailors on the Petrol gave the name of
Suksy TO tho mother cat. In color she is a very
light gray. with chocolate colored spots about
the head. In shape she is long and 1.-THE. and
In moving about tho house she seems 10 creep
rather than walk. thus evidencing her kinship
to the original tiger type. When she walks
along the polished floor you can hear her long
claws click. She Is very Rfectionate. and her
Ienarakably blue eyes beam with intelligence.
Yet, with all her gentleness. sho looks like an
ocelot hunting for prey as she goes about.
When she was first brought To the house she
was restless. and was watched with the greatest
care. lest she should escape. owing to her wild
ways. but now she IA thoroughly domesticated.
Her only fault is that she persists In running
the costly laco curtains and carpets with her
claws. She will leap from the carpet TO the top
OF the curtain fixture without any apparent
effort. Miss Marble says she docs not mind a
little thing like that and Sukey is firmly fixed
In the affections of the family