The Savannah morning news., 1901-05-17
DEVOTION IN BRUTES.
FROM SEA BY SANDY HOOK CLAM
MERS.
Become Mascots of Boats-Cats, Dogs,
Wounded Birds and Even Rats
Adopted I'm This Way Good
Stories of the Intelligence of Some
of the PETS

from the New York Mail and Express.
1t is not at all improbable that many
of the dogs and cats and even rats which
have been denied residence in this
city, and have been consigned to sup
posed watery graves in the lower bay
by way of some coal barge or schooner,
are to-day pacing the decks of the clam
diggers' fleet, masters of all they sur
Vey.' The obliging persons who assume
the role of self-appointed executioners
arg mos always particular how their
condemned prisoners reach the water
ana very often these animals, after
much-needed bath, are rescued by the
Klhd-hearted clammers, and at once in
staIled as mascots of their craft Only
the strange things which are raked up
from the bottom of the bav can rival in
appearance the animals which the clam
iners hnd, in all stages of abject misery,
eltner on the wave or along some I'M
freQuented shore
AS there is almost no limit to the
number of mascots which one boat can
carry, a person can often see an en-
oryonlc menagerie surrounding the mas
Ter Oh one OF these small crafts, unless
perchance, mascot mo. l" proves him
MS rivals as fast as they come aboard
Dogs of every conceivable breed are
PROMINENT members of the clammer's
shlps company. Year in and year out
they pace the quarterback. and now and
theh take nap in the lee of the deck
house They are good sailors, too. No
one can take a trick at the dog watch
better than they; and this often means
a great deal to the master when Clam
pirates" are about.
NewfoundIand's Devotion.
Within the last two years no less than
ten dogs, ito the WRITERS knowledge,
nave been picked up off Sandy Hook.
either swimming bravely for shore or
else cllnging to some wreckage, crying
plteously. Very recently a large New
Ioundland dog was picked up in this
way. His case is a rather remarkab BILE
one, and shows the attachment of these
animals for their old masters. This dog
jumped from a vessel into the bay and
swan quarter of a mile to his mas
ter's boat, from which he had become
separated the day before at the West
Tenth street market. The dog had been
stolen in this city by another boats
crew, and held in captivity until the
open waters of the bay were reached,
when all danger of an escape were sup
posed to be over.
The master was overjoyed when he
heard scratching the side of his
boat and saw that it was the lost dog
returned. He says that he originally
found the dog floating at see in a large
box evidently having fallen from some
vessel
THE dog has always seemed to ap-
preciate his rescue" the captain added
ION one occasion he plunged overheard
af -
the side of my boat
The clammer has great faith In the
theory that the cat has nine lives 1t is
only necessary for one to take a run
down the bay and see the cats and kit
tens creeping stealthily about the decks
of the clam fleet to be convinced that
the clammer is probably right, and that
the majority of the recent feline drown
ing excursions" to the river front were
cases of the cat coming back-to the
surface. at least Their rescuers say that
pussy is often pretty far gone when
found on a drifting plank or in the re-
cesses of some old hulk, but alive never
theless.
One clammer down the bay has a cat
which finds its own meat. and requires
absolutely no attention. The old man
only wishes that 1t was not quite so
easy for his mate" to make a living,
for the 'critter' thrives on the rats
which are honeycombing the dilapidated
craft and causing Capt. Tom many wake
full nights as they gambol about the
| deck or take observations from the mast
head and the 'ratlines." Rats. bedbugs
and reaches are brands of the mascot
! that the clammer does not seek vet
| seems unable to get along without; for
they will, in the majority of cases, take
possession OF the ship sooner or later.
Three Accomplished Rats.
Capt. Tom has friend, however who
really loves rats, at least, the three par
eiculiar rats he owns. They were picked
| up by him in little wooden cage, which
was inside a box found about a mile
| west of Sandy Hook last summer To-
day they have full run of his fifty foot
| sloop, and seem almost to understand
| his bidding
These rats are very methodical in
| their habits, the captain says. Every
morning before breakfast they take a
constitutional up and down the main
mast followed by a promenade out on
the anchor cable The rest of the day
they spend curled up on some extra
canvas in the sail locker, or shifting
about the newlytcaught CLAIMS. The
captain asserts that ever since he picked
up these three men in a boat" they
nave been dnectlonate to him, and al
ways either creep into his pockets when
he starts to go ashore, or else stand on
the rail three in a row and squeak fare
we'll
There are many crippled birds too, on
the clammers boats. These are often the
victims of the sportsman's rife, which
have either fluttered to the decks and
received the ministration of the tender
hearted skipper or have been picked up
by him from some floating driftwood,
or rescued while ioundering helplessly
I'm the water These ducks, crows. fish
hawks and sometimes snipe make the
best of sailors. and soon becoming ac-
customed to their surroundings. seldom
leaving them. In fair weather they perch
in the shrouds, and when the storm
RACES they seek the warmth and shelter
OF the cabin.
One old clammer is very pround of a
crow with a broken wing, which he says
Is a wonderful weather prophet. The
poor bird although continually used as
a barometer does not object. He UNI
failingly warns the ships company of a
storm by peculiar flutter of his dis
abled propeller" The captain explains
this phenomenon on the ground that the
injured wing is very sensitive TO damp
ness. The crows nest on this vessel Is
not near the masthead, but in a snug
little corner under the captains berth.
There are two clammers in Sandy Hook
Bay credited with the distinction OF hav-