Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1900-12-29
CATS IN THE NAVY YARD
ARE VIGILANT PROTECTORS OF
GOVERNMENT PROPERTY.
One Of the Best Rntters Gives Inter
eStfnS Lessons to Kittens
Pioneers of the Force.

| a cat as a regular member of the United
States naval forces has been made by Ma
val Constructor Bowles of the Brooklyn
navy yard. He has intimated to the men
under him that none of the cats which
prowl about the yard are to be annoyed OF
interfered with in any way.
According to the workmen In the yard
this recognition Of the cats Is no more
than their due. The cats do not cost the
government cent They are fed by the
men at the dinner hour, and come for the
scraps of food saved for them at the va
rious shops soon as the bell SOUNDS al
noon. In return for this they save Uncle
Sam tens of thousands of dollars yearly
by keeping rats and mice away from the
sheds and shops
Eight years ago there was not cat to
be seen anywhere about the Brooklyn navy
yard The place was overrun with rats
instead. The officials had tried all sorts OF
poisons and traps for years III an eHor1 10
get rid Of the rats, but IN VAIN. lhey
seemed to make sport of the traps ana 10
grow plump and sleek on the poisons the
governments outlay in its war on rats is
| said by the officials of the yard to nave
been considerable Every year almost eV-
cry dock in the yard needed overhaul1ng
to repair the places whore i had been
gnawed by rats, and the losses in rigging
| spare sails and other stores were even
greater.
| About seven years ago. however, the first
| cat was allowed to enter the yard. and the
rats began to leave. Previous TO that uogs
| had been brought into the yard In iEe nope
| that they might Danish the rats. but the
| dogs were no match for the big and fero-
cious rats They usually shirked an en-
counter, and when the rats showed night
| fled from the yard in terror. Inc cats
| however, are more than match for the
| biggest rats, and now there are more cats
| than rats in the place.
Two Veteran Ratters.
The oldest cats in the yard are Tom and
Minnie. who do the policing of the electri-
| cal department Large quantities OF olied
silk and other insulating materials are kept
there and formerly it was impossible to
| preserve 1t from the rats. Ever since the
arrival Of Tom and Minnie. however. the
oiled silk is safe from being gnawed Tom
| is very large black cat, while Minnie
who Is also black, Is by all odds the
smallest cat in the place. According to the
| workmen. she Is the best ratter IN the
| navy yard
| The best ratter in the navy yard!' ex-
claimed one Of the workmen when this re-
| mark was made She's the best ratter in
| the United States, or In the world, for that
matter. She has the run Of the machine
rooms. and she knows every wheel and
strap there
| AS the man spoke a small black cat.
scarcely larger than the ordinary kitten,
| appeared lodging about among the whlrl-
| ing belts and wheels in the machine room
| with the greatest GOODNESS. She ran up to
| the man and rubbed against his leg, purr-
ing softly.
"see that" he said. "she wouldn't go
near stranger. but she's the friend OF
every man in the place. She can tackle
rat as big as herself. and the rat never
gets away when she does tackle him. She
can make jump of eight feet easily. I've
seen her Jump down a flight of stairs after
a rat and and plump on its back. It's sure
! death for the rat, for she never misses her
spring. She deserves gold medal for pre-
serving the property of the United States
| Next to Tom and Minnie, Jerry, who Is
official rat catcher in the rigging loft, Is
| the Oldest cat In the navy yard. He has
| been there almost seven years. A little
over three years ago he was Joined by an
other cat. who responds to the name Of
| George Dewey. Up to Jerry's arrival the
| rigging loft was infested by large rats and
an immense number of mice. Sai,maker
| Cowan says that at present the loft is as
| free Of rats and mice as any place he has
ever been in
You have no idea Of the change that has
used to be awful. They were SO bold and
fearless that they would come scampering
over our hands while we were working at
| the rigging here. l never saw anything
| like 1t. I've had mice run over my feet
and try to climb up my legs in the middle
| of the day. when all the men were working
| here and the place was as noisy as a boiler
factory. 1t meant lot more work for the
men, because the damage they did to the
| rigging kept some of US busy repairing It
all the year round"
| Jerry is the only cat at present In the
navy yard who has ever been on a cruise.
He has been on two trips with United
States fleets. His last was on board the
Monongahela with the Asiatic squadron
Jerry is In the habit of taking long trips
away from the navy yard on his own ac-
count. About a month ago he was taken
away against his will! a considerable dis
| lance from the yard by a workman who
tried to domesticate him at his home.
he naf rod y1rI
next day. The workmen declare that he
must have traced his way back to the yard
| by listening for the toling Of the big bell
there. About once a month Jerry disap-
pears He always returns Just when the
| mice are beginning to show themselves
again in the rigging loft and for the first
| few days after his return he works over
time.
A big black cat presides over the black
| smiths shop, but she has not much to do
there. She appears about once In month.
and after killing off any rats or mice that
| may have taken refuge there during her
absence disappears again for another
month.
| Bob Duke who Is employed in the con-
struction and repairs department of the
navy yard Is acknowledged to be the best
| posted cat fancier in the place. He has q
| cat named Jennie In building No. 90 and
| he asserts she is the most expert ratter in
| existence.
A Lesson in Rat Catching.
| i've seen cats all over the world" he
said yesterday. but never saw anything
that could hold a candle to Jennie. She lit
tiers every three months. and her kittens
| have been taken all over the world by the
warships they have been presented to.
They are at a premium in the navy because
| they are all such corking good ratters.
When they are little she gives them a les
son in rat catching every day at noon"
| look Of increduity came over the faces
| of some Of his listeners at Bob Dukes
| last statement. and he noticed It.
| "Come along" he said. land I'll show
! that I'm giving you straight goods"
| He led the way into building No. 20. AS
| he entered a tortoise shell cat ran into an
! open space In the middle Of the room and
| deposited a dead mouse on the floor. She
| returned a moment later with very small
| tortoise shell kitten. and the lesson that
Bob Duke had promised began. While the
| kitten watched attentively. Jennie gath
cred herself In a crouching position at
| some little distance from the dead mouse.
pounced upon it with sudden spring. and
began to worry 1t. growing fercely all the
while IN imitation of anger. After this
! movement had been repeated several times
Jennie drew to one side and allowed the
kitten to follow her example. Although the
little cat was somewhat unsteady on her
Ill AoIr1