The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1898-09-11
EEL KILLS A OAE.
A Duel in n Conservatory which Forever
Put an End to n Cats Fish Stealing.

A Duel in n Conservatory which Forever
Put an End to n Cats Fish Stealing.
In Central Park West lives a man whose pride
is a fountain which gurgles In the centre OF his
conservatory. In the sunken marble basin Of
the fountain swim many curious fishes and an
, eel two feet long. as slender as a carriage
whip and black as the master Of evil. There is
nothing remarkable about the physical aspect
of the eel, nor does 1t belong to any unique
anGuilliform tribe. but 1t is the hero OF one OF
the most singular duels ever fought by the
creatures OF land or water.
"Squirms. as the children call him" said the
gentleman. referring to the eel. "is very docile
family He ~ viii ill nibbHie bits Of ash food ) from IN
the children'S hands. and invariably acknowl-
edges their presence by a series Of maneuvres
"s9uirms's tamepess nearly cost him his lifea
few days ago. and indirectly. brought to an
pet Maltese cat. The cat In question dearly
loved fish. and was lowering around the, basin
offered. Several of such opportunities she inn
proved to, purloin q dainty and much;coyeted
and chastised. and a guard was placed over the
conservatory to prevent repetitions. But she
SGgild q nSt S S9aq refax hsF fH n sSe sl Hnd g. a otte gea as
orally secured a flnny prize before detected.
Twice caught her IN the act, and i was
although 1t involved the loss Of my valuable
pets. She would hang over the edge, OF the
1Ses p ens sns ETFhbe e 1lsh hR Woald dart "a f 6itheF a9d
But as the cat remained motionless throughout
the disturbance confidence was soon re-
again resumed its sway, Puss would Keep
her paw hanging In the water without
G drad fn,EisF the fSF p a9rse or of four Sn n min n
substance would attract the beguiled fish. for
they are as inordinately curious as any land
antM1 thoF ESaESF a eon VHSsSdf t Of {she s0 6arm Sss@
ness Of. the rigid paw. they almost rubbed
pected. and, like a flash. the treacherous paw
| would clutch a too adventuresome Ash. crowd
draw him out with remarkable dexterity. The
next m2ye OF the cat was to beat a retreat with
leisure and in seclusion.
But Puss's day of retribution was at hand;
isSSins ,rom The st coaservatory and adiH sarmiss SIM!
that the piltertnS cat had succeeded In raising
the blockade l rushed in to protect my fish. AS
l reached the door OF the conservatory | was
fairly paralyzed by the specscle which greeted
my sight. There a lew feet from the basin OF
tInmbiing and Writing like thing possessed.
Her Jaws were distendedt to their utmost limits.
hair stood on end like. porcupine quilts. She
was making the ,weirdest noise had ever
heard from even the most resourceful of vocal,
izing felines. 1t was not a yowl or a 'me-oux.'
but a slbllant, rasping gasp something like the
The rapidly OF her movements absorbed
the outlines Of her body. and ali she presented
starting eyes. kicking feet. and rufled fur.
But soon the confusion took form and showed
me the cause Of her extraordinary perform;
arounI her neck Ikea boa-constrictor around a
pig. The head and tail of the eel were thresh-
ing the air wildly, but the rest OF his body was
firmly impacted in three coils around the neck.
just how vigorously tho eel was hugging I
olongati9n and the powerlessness OF the cat to
u! ~ A. .II.. ...
once. but the terrible COMMISSIONS Of the cat
prevented me from separating them. Grad
and aaiis Soon She feil over on nf6S her side and remained
m9G1ti3n les co Th aEs J i IS st9 9o@p fad low and a. IN n
the claws OF his antagonist. and the moment l
removed him he gave II shudder and then be-
came as void Of external signs Of life as the
a. s Z Shs@s0 o t. 5scq9 PS I'M If there ssry %Ss
whom l summoned carried the cat into
the, rear yard. She was still breathing.
believer in the theory OF nine lives To a feline.
that she would recover. Indeed. she, was so
aged to stasger to her feet. but was Unable to
make use Of them for purposes OF locomotion.
The constructing force Of the eei, or rather the
was {. profound surprise to me. That little tel:
low Of mine had fairly compressed the flesh Of
1.-TWO hours after the battle the servants in
formed me that Puss had curled up and died.
to and him departed to the land OF eel Spirits.
but instead no was moving sttniy around the
recovery, AS a matter Of fact, no did fully re-
cover within two or three days. and ID now dis.
porting himself as gayly as ever In the fountain
What started the remarkable duel is a mat
ter OF mere CONJECTURE, but II seems tn me tho
only logical conclusion is that Puss was fishing
with her paw in the water when the eel came
along and was seized in her claws. 1t was a
comparatively easy matter to draw him out.
but l suppose in squirmlng around he man.
aged to get his stout, coils over her neck and
took a twist which, al the cats olawing and
scratching could not make him abandon"
Yale's Prex Couldn't UnharneSS n Horse.
From he Utica Observer.
Henry g. Allyn, the venerable monument
66iFdtl6s.r Fl T selIs the FSiIlo is Z ga sfo ri c %RieS hspt
pened when he was a boy-seyenty years ago
Or m0remway ,6 dow W. East: "TherS was q man pa
present ohaneellor Of the University in this
With pr. DwslEht. PiresiaepTt d, Yale GGo5II@estos.
urged by the President to remain over through
the next day, when DR.. Dwight promised to take
i h"% BS6pid' Tie fPe 8 d S9afs q Y Yale G GSfe %G sai-
I,eG i ,olIh s ~ SSeaEf IN fbdt forssi foT there ar were were
however. that his next-door nelghbor was
PSe Ss r. afibsIsi Mn y w !6tIt the loan wS q his Ie1 ESo iISgj
him back you must unharness him and put
him into the STALL Very well. / will, said
President Dwight, So, after a pleasant days
the, President, still mindful of his promise.
told DR.. Upson that he had contracted TO I'M
Then these two distinguished clergymen
proceeded to execute their task by unbuckling
every buckle they could find and throwing the
1ismembered harness into q heap on one side,
Finally the patient animal was freed from all
Dwight tugged vigorously for some time, and
then called,D DR., Epson to his assistance. They
both pulled az II vigorously but Intellectually,
have been, placed on that beast when he
was a colt; aud his head has since grown
so as to make its removal IMPOSSIBLE
Yes said DR.. Dwight. / guess you are right
But at this point the milkmaid approached the
two erudite dlyines; and, seeing their dilemma,
said: III you turn the collar around II will come
on They did 30 and were oyerjoyed to lind
MY dear brother said DR., Dwight "a ediiying
conclusion. either OF us knows ten times as