The Anaconda standard., 1899-01-08

joy was depicted on a goats counte-
nance it shone in Billy Boys eyes
Then one of the men took his pipe
from his mouth and came nearer. Bill
ly Boy met him half way and, looking
as if he were in a goats seventh heay-
en-, licked the fire and ashes out of the
bowl as if he had never tasted any,
thing so good in his life.
He eats lighted cigars, too, when
he gets chance" said the sailor.
And drink! He drinks like fish.
Not water! No, Sir! But beer and
whiskey. He gets as drunk as a lord
and staggers all over the deck. He's
great old Billy Boy, and we wouldn't
part with him for his weight in gold.'
Huddled in a corner which was tol-
erably warm, a pretty little gazelle
shivered pathetically. She, too, wore q
blanket, but it was not gay like Billy
Boys. 1t was made of dark brown
velveteen and was without ornament.
The gazelle, whose name was Eva, was
taken on board at Santa Cruz before
the war. She broke her leg, though,
While the ships were blockading and
was on shore in the hospital at the
time of the battle with Cervera's s
squadron. May be she was particu-
larly dumpsh last week on account of
the sudden cold weather, but she did
not seem happy. 1t might be 100
much to expect of a gazelle to be lap-
py on a warship anyway.
Whatever Eva lacked in satisfaction
was quite made up for by the evident
content of Cervera, the Spanish cat.
The men called him Cervera because
they captured him from the wreck of
| the Reina Mercedes about a week after
! the fight. AT that time the poor thing
was not only three-quarters starved,
| but was so NANCY that he scarcely had
a good patch of fur on his wretcned
body. But the whole ships crew took
him in hand and now he is as sleek
and healthy an animal as you could
| find. There is a good deal of discus
sion as to what particular remedy
| cured him. Every man on board had
| his own notion as to the best treat
| ment and Cervera was rubbed promis-
| cuously with sulphur, vaseline, pota-
| toes hair oil, lard, salt, and about 800
| other recommended articles. The re-
suit is admirable, but there is good
| deal of confusion as to what brought
it about. Cervera wears collar to
which are attached two bells and a
| plate engraved "Cuha Libre,
The other animals are popular with
| the men, but they are not made so
much of as Cervera and Billy Soy.
The dog. a white terrier. was shivering
| in box half filled with hay and the
| men were coddling him.
| Over on the Massachusetts the men
are particularly fond of their hen and
| a game rooster. The hen arrived on
| board about year ago as many a aen
had arrived before her, namely win
the cooks galley as her destination;
! But Dickey-she has since been named
Dickey-immediately began to demon
strate that she was not an ordinary
chicken, fit only to be fricasseed or
roasted. First she flew her own 1ndi-
yidual coop and took to the ship at
| large The men did not even then ap-
preciate her and attempted to recap
tllre her. In the attempt she broke her
leg. but still undismayed and with a
sublime self-confdence which compeil-
ed respect, she flew overheard entirely.
After a great deal of shouting and
suuawking she was rescued, very wet,
hut very much alive, and it was unan-
imously voted that hen of such PROV
ess was never meant to be killed and
eaten, at least not in her prime. So
| Dickey became head mascot of the
Massachusetts, and is still very much
on deck She and the game rooster
think they can say they have the lars-
est chicken coop in creation. During