The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1901-10-17
MAscoTs ON sHIPBoARD.
Some of the Pets That Are Suppose

ions they are also fond Of mascots.
Nearly every ship which comes to this
port has dog or a cat or a goat or an
alligator or a rooster, or something else
which the sailors took to for protection
against the fury of the elements and
the wiles of the evil-one. 1t is
astonishing how these mascots are
cared for. In nearly every instance
they are fed from the captains table
and whenever they are sick, every man
on board exerts himself to find some
remedy for the ailment, and they are
never satisfied until cure is effected
The mascot of the steamship Monte
yuma is an alligator, cunning fellow,
about IL feet long. He was brought
aboard when he was as small as liz
ard. They got him down at Quaran-
tine, and to his presence Is attributed
all the good luck which has followed
the ship since. The men will tell you
with grave face that the reason they
| have had no trouble with the muleteers
they carry regularly to South Africa Is
due to that alligator. They will tell
you seriously that the reason they have
of those mishaps is because the a!iga-
tor has hoodooed the weather man and
the microbe.
They believe it, and they steadfastly
refuse to wean themselves from the
idea. They look after that reptile as
though he were kings son. They give
him a place In the bathtub and they
spend half day chasing flies and other
insects, to be sure he gets a good din
ner. When rations are short they will
cheerfully divide with their four-web-
footed friend, who has face like a
griffin on the top of a public building,
and a mouth like the Isthmus of Pana-
ma. OF course, the alligator knows
and understands When they are feed
ing him he smiles over about three feet
of mouth, and shows his teeth and
they imagine he Is pleased, and give
him more. They say he crawls to the
feet of the men who give him the most
to eat and therefore there Is a generous
rivalry to see who will get his favor.
Unless something happens to put stop
to his practice that alligator may die
of Indigestion.
The mascot on the steamship Mem
non is a billy goat. The appearance
of that goat would knock a holiday out
of the calendar, or postpone Sunday, or
accomplish almost any other heinous
design. He has been all around the
world and back again, and he is still
going and travelling all the time is one
of the cabin passengers. He goes where
he pleases, and when he pleases and
there is not a soul to say him nay. The
man who would be so brave as to pro-
pose any limitation to the license or lib
erty of that goat would be unceremoni-
ously pitched overheard without bene
fit of clergy. The age of the goat no
living man will undertake to guess He
was there years and years ago, and he
is there yet The flight of the years
seems to have passed him by.
His beard has about the same num-
Der of hairs in 1t now as 1T had ten
years ago and the butting capacity has
been strengthened instead Of decreased. |
The way to make friends with the cap
tain and the crew, and everybody else |
in any way connected with the Mem
non. is to first make friends with that /
goat. and every man who goes aboard /
with his pockets full of tin cans and
brown paper and things of that kind Is
held in grateful remembrance by the
men Of the ship. Every morning Bill
Tvs" hide Is carefully soaked and ev-
cry evening his bed Is made with the
same degree of care as If the owner of
the boat were going to use the bunk.
There are all sorts Of stories about this
goat. They say he scented a hurricane
1nce and warned the officers by run
n tn11a
f he were mortally wounded At first
hey did not know what to make of
t, but in time they found the wind ris-
ng and saw the Clouds and knew the
goat had a. premonitory warning. This
accidental gayety fixed for life one goat.
The mascot on the steamship Ashanti,
he British ship which went to sea the
,ther day, is a common cur dog. There
8 nothing of high degree about him.
he looks as common and unattractive
Is any dog on the street In the world
tut wonderful things are on the books
# the ship to his credit They say he
las saved two or three lives, has kept
he pantry clear of rats and mice,
,uards the vessel when she Is In port
md knows the voice of every man of
he crew. He was born somewhere in
England and they found him aboard
fter they had sailed and adopted him,
nd since then he has been perfectly
appy, and well he should be, for he
las been as carefully looked after and
tenderly treated as dog Of mil
onaire He has a Buffalo robe on
which to sleep, he is clothed in scarlet
nd fine raiment in the winter to keep
is body from the cold of the air and
he sea, and when one of the wharf
ats strikes him he must be fleet of
cot If he gets away without chas-
isement.
Some of the fruit ships have mon
eys and parrots as their guardian an
els. When Jack is at sea he has time
} teach them tricks and he never over
,oks a chance to have his mascot learn
there is to be learned, so he
an make q show when he gets to port
down on the levee, there
re rare performances. The crews of
le several ships fraternize, and they
ring their mascots along and brag on
hat they can do, and there Is a grand
1mpetitive drill with the interested I
wners and spectators as judges. All
lese trials show how hard the men