The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1898-04-10

Ike of water and wet and prefer to be
out in the rain.
We rather doubt these conclusions. and
| believe that If the London cat differs al
all from his country cousin il is in selec,
| ing different hours for his sport ana
amusement. The country cat is more or
less lively all day and hunts regularly
in the evening. The London cat is sleepy
and quiet all day. because circumstances
| make him a very early riser, or at any
rate prevent him having his morning sleep
The explanation of the languor and ennui
| or the London cat Is to be found i'm the
| iact that long before he appears at the
breakfast table with a jaded appetite and
! a general air of aloofness from the world
/ and its pleasures he has had long morn
| ing's sport often in delightful society. and
| then breakfasted comfortably in the kitch-
en-. The scenes of these early morning
hunts are various, and the hour during
| nalf the year is one before even the earli-
| est of early riser are about.
In winter the London cats often seek
/ their sport under cover. In one district
| near very large and famous brewery the
| sporting cats so regularly as soon as the
brewery gates are open to hunt rats In
| the brewery stores" This Is capital fun
| as there are hundreds of barrels, either
stored or working" with little patches
| of yeasty froth oozing from the bunghOles
| and plenty of dropped corn and grains
| in the neighborhood to attract all the
| rats from elsewhere Under and among
these barrels they may be hunted with
| success for an hour or more. Besides the
| brewery rats which are said to drink beer
| when they can get it, there are temper
ance rats" which live by the river and.
so far as we know, only drink water
| These form the grand objects of summer
| sport TO all London cats in range of the
| Ihames, from the docks in the cast, to
| Chiswick in the west. and all along the
| old muddy foreShore on the Surrey side
| where no embankment intervenes TO spoil
| sport. We have never heard OF an in,
| stance of London cats catching fish by
the river. probably because until very re-
| Gently there have been no fish TO catch
| But the keenness of the cats for this
| riverside hunting by the tidal Thames is
such that they often return covered and
clothed with mud from the foreshore.
| where they have either fallen in from the
| wharves or have pursued a rat escaping
across the leavings of the river ebb
| In summer mornings, from 4 to about 8
| London ceases for the moment TO belong TO
| the world of men, and for the moment Is
given up to the sole enjoyment of the
| London birds and the London cats, AZ
| this really bewitching hour, for the town
is quite beautiful then, the cats may be
| seen as at no other time, monarchs of all
1
| town. Then 1t may be seen that Il is not
| for nothing that the race have for genera
| lions maintained their independence and
| asserted their rights to roam. For at that
| hour all the dogs are shut up; all the
| boys, and grown-up people, too, are asleep.
| There is not even a milkman about, or
| an amalgamated engineer going to his be-
fore breakfast work The city is theirs.
| Their demeanor at this time is absolutely
changed. They stroll about the streets
and gardens with an air They converse
In the center of highways. They walk
| with certain feline abandon and momen-
tary magnificence over gardens and
squares For the time they are not cats,
| but lions and tigers; or to change the
smile, they are no longer domestics, but
gentlemen at large.
Before sunrise one midsummer morning
the writer was watching the early birds
| by the side of the London river, and won
dering at the abundance and variety of
| life in the silver-gray light of the dawn.
| pair of water-hens were running on the
mud left by the ebb, sedge-warblers sing
Ing, as they had done all night, and o.
| pair of turtle-doves flew down to drink
before sunrise. When the first beams of
| the sun sent long shafts of light down the
river the sedge-warblers were instantly
| silent, and almost Immediately the black
birds and sparrows and starlings appear
ed upon the grass At this moment an
| other ornithologist appeared on the
scene in the person of an elegant young
female cat. She made great efforts to
stalk the fat blackbirds and cockspar-
rows, hattening herself till her whole
body seemed almost as level as a mat yet
capable of a rush forward whenever the
birds looked In another direction But the
birds were perfectly equal to the game.
one blackbird in particular sided off each
| vii
he sat at last on the edge of the wooden
cam-shedding, where, If the cat made her
spring, she must fall into the river He
too, flew off, and at this moment of dis
appointment another and an older cat
leaped lightly from the privet hedge close
| by and playfully cuffed the head of the
disappointed one. This cat had probably
been waiting on the chance of a drive"
while the more impetuous one tried to
stalk In the open. The latter seemed half
inclined to resent the humorous turn
which the older cat gave to her hunting
but the two soon made 1t up, and after
stroiling ostentatiously across the lawn
with their tails up, separated, and the
young one adjourned to hunt ground
game" in the cam-shedding The quarry
were either mice or rats but were at
lacked by storm, and not by waiting
The cat dived her paws into the cracks
OF the boards, reaching in as far as her
HHoulueTs ana soon bolted something
which she reached after head downward
so far that nothing but her tail and one
hind paw were visible. After hanging al
most head downward for some time she
scrambled back, just as the first cat came
darting past like a wild animal with an
enormous rat in its mouth.
IT Is doubtful whether the London cat is
In the least degree more docie or biddahIa
than his country cousin. He Is more de-
pendent on man, for no one ever hears 1, f
a London cat going off to live a wild life
willingly, though country cats do this fire.
quently. 1t has been observed OF the
whole race, at least In this country. that
though they will often obey the order
Come" they absolutely refuse to entar-
tain the command Go" and, as most
useful service involves this as the initial
idea, the animal which refuses obedience
10 il is practically useless except as
volunteer.
The admirable sporting qualities, even
! of the London cat should make him a
most useful and amusing aid In sport Il
he could be induced 10 cooperate with