The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1898-10-09
ARMY MASCOIS AND PETS.
UNOFFICIAL MEMBERS OF THE
UNITED STATES FORCES.
Birds and Animals That Have Heen
to the Front-Ajax and Ofher
Donkeys That Figured In the
Civil war-Heroes Of Marathon.

<
accounts % animals which have been
adopted by the soldiers as u3ascots or Mil
tary pets. The story % Inc ship's cat o,
the Maine, which escaped with every one
Of its nine lives when thai vessel went
down before Havana has already been
told The San Francisco's mascot is goat
named Billy, whose pranks have amused
the feet for several years. He Is pFivl-
/ legged character. with rot half SO mucn
We for admiral he has for a COM
mon sailor. who knoas the Use OF ropes
end. and possessing also d rooted otsltke
| Of marines Billy has the run OF the snip
/ IS equally AT home on the quarterback or IN
| the forecas5ie and feeds on anything from
| the officers dinner 70 parlor matches An
/ other pet on the San Francisco two or
/ three years ago was an iguana named
satan. The reptile MAS q souvenir OF
/ the days when the san Francisco slipped
! down 20 Valparaiso 20 take a hand In the
Chilean squabble OF 1891 He fat, lazy
+ and embarrassing, and never gained the
! affections OF the ships crew as did the
| goat
| On shore many OF the volunteer troops
possess dogs and cats as reg:mental mas
/ cots. The boys OF Battery A. OF the light
/ artillery OF this state. swear by the cap
| tasn's dog. The Eighth Massachusetts pos
| sesses bull terrier which IS quite we'll
| known In that state, where he has attend
| ed the annual encampments for several
| years. Inc Skin MASSACHUSETTS boasts
I also OF a SeabrigAt bantam rooster. whose
/ abilities as lusty Grower attracted con-
! siderable attention the troops made
| their way south.
! These anofficia. members OF the United
States forces. while their existence Is ned
/ ther recognized nor provided for by the
/ army regulations, are by no means a new
feature of war. From very early times We
| know that soldiers have taken their pet
| animals and birds along on campaigns,
and II may be that the custom began al
most as soon as armies and bait es first
| existed. Homer tells us much about the
| favorte steeds of the Greek heroes who
| fought at Troy, and another writer gives
| an account OF a pet dog which belonged
| to one of the soldiers at the battle OF Mar.
| athon. nearly 400 years ago From the
| years of the rise and fail Of Rome and
| the fascinating dark period Of the Middle
| Ages We have not a few tales of soldiers
| pets In modern times animals have been
| no strangers 10 the battlefield The his
tory OF the English army is full OF stories
Of birds and beasts and even reptiles that
have been adopted into the relocated
| ranks. In The bitterly contested Crimean
war there were many pets in the lines Of
| al the contend'ng armies The Russian
| soldiers especially had a great rondness
| for cats. and carried many Of the AMI
! mails with them on their campaigns
/ The pussies seemed quite content with the
! army life. made long marches resting on
! their masters knapsacks and shoulders
| took part in the fighting and were not IN
| frequently f0un1 1ead upon the battlefield
In our own country there were army
| pets during the revolution No Ameri-
| can history mentions the fact that A
goat took part in the battle OF Bunker
Hill. but such, nevertheless was the
case The animal belonged 10 the
welsh Fusiiiers. and when the British
| charged up the Hill on the American
works the goat was with the column
| He escaped unframed by bullets, per
! maps because Putnam's could not
see The whites OF his eyes" During
! the operations on the Hudson. later in
! the war, an eagle. which had been
| wounded by a shot from q British sol
| der fell into tho hands OF some Amerl-
| can troops and became camp pet
! THIS. OF course. was long before the ma
| tlonal emblem had been selected. but the
| eagle of the revolution was not the last
| living representative of his kind which
| was to figure in the battles Of The coun-
| try. During the civil war several regl-
| ments carried 1--we eagles as mascots, but
| the eagle, and at The same time proba-
| bly, the most famous pet that ever be-
| came part OF army lie. was old Abe"
| the war eagle Of the Eighth Wisconsin
| He went through three years Of aghting.
| gained a national reputation, and was
prominent figure In public He for same
! sixteen years after the war closed.
| Doubtless some CT the older readers Q.
! this article viii remember seeing this
/ grand OLD bird twenty-five years age &.
! the Centennial exposition In Philadelphia,
! but % a larger part OF the p bile the
| story Of the Wisconsin eagle. the thrill
| Ing events through which he passed dur
| ing the great struggle, ard the honors
| which were showcred upon him afterward
| Is not 50 va known. Olj Abe was a
| specimen cf the true bald eagle. the ma
| tou8l emblem OF our country He was
| taken from the nest by 4 Chippewa n
| dan. and became the property OF Com
! pany Z Eau Clare contingent or the
/ Eighth regiment. jUst a the troops we're
| setting out fer the f1el3 in September, 1881.
| perch. mounted or q pole. Was pro-
| vi3ed tcr Ire bird ana bearer appointed
| ~ho carried the 1--we eagle az the head ~
| The Wisconsin troops 5usl as the golden
eagle Of Rome had been horns by the
/ )ee!ors q Julius Caesar, centuries before
! Long before The volunteers reached the
| front they became kaown As the Eagle
| reg neut" A. $; Louis The bird eS-
| Carsd from MS keeper rs Swapping the
! cord which bound hin, to the percfs, bu,
| vas recapgur~d after az hours freedom
/ on the hoUsctops May times after chat
! Ia took flea, into the air. ont always p
/ turned. se- III ~ 20 recognize that he held
/ an important place = the regiment.
| TIE soldiers were somewhat auxlous q
| see how tEe.r mascot Houlf behave in
hattie but Rte1 thc f~st aEtinr came re
! Cid rot d}>anFs-t~. thcn The bird seemed
! - hecoF1e " li w.;h he nose ard excite.
meet fapped as .1Es tnra a: rs pe~,h
! ana repeatedly gave utrersnH~s 70 shrilf
penetrating crt-s ana wAfe.l~s hat f~a,,la
! oe hears ~ or above tHe t:n q the aEht
/ Af'~r ira: be always sesave1 u The same
Il a-