The daily morning journal and courier., 1905-11-25
SOME OBJECTIONS TO CATS.
Ccontinued from Fourth Page.)


 ter of a mile distant, and the family who, save for a number of pet cats, ! were the sole occupants of the house. I was an occasional visitor at this house, and used to see the cats feeding bountifully when the milk was brought fresh from the cows and distributed to their different dishes. "In return, these cats manifested all the affection for their master (the eld- CT of the two nnen) which Is possible for their kind. They rubbed their sides against his legs, or purred con, tentedly in his lap as he read his Massachusetts Ploughman.' They ! crawled into his bed for warmth in the winter, and he, lacking the com
 panionship of family, loved and cared 1 for them. ~'.--., -s. ..s a.. One night, when the October moon
 was at it's best, this man, in the ab- sence of his younger brother, was at 1 tackled by a caller, and killed by re- peated blows from a small axe. The
 next day, after the autopsy, all the
 curiosity seekers followed the detec- ] tives about as they were Investigating clues. and I was asked to remain on guard until relieved. .s.z" @
 The room, which was on the first 1 floor, had two windows, both opening 1 to the east; and sat on sofa be- tween them with the mutilated body of my old friend lying on an improvis- l ed table at a distance of about four or i five feet from the windows. The nov ! city of the situation caused me lit 1 tie uneasiness at first and I gathered and laid within reach two, or three i weapons, including the fatal axe. Pres ! ently heard low caterwaul just out ] side the window, and visions of these i pets mourning over their dead master ! passed before my mental vision. ''TgDese romantic reverTes were rude ly shattered by mad rush. In through the windows sprang five bristling, rav-
 ening incarnations of hells most fend- ish spirits. Three bounced upon the
 body of their late beloved CD master, fairly clawing one another in their fury. , to get at the head and neck the seat of the worst mutilation. Of the other | two, one devoted his attention to get ting shreads from a saw which had
 been used by the physician, while the other proceeded to lick blood from
 cracks of the floor. | ..t >. +........
 This was a time for action, but no
 sooner was the room cleared than in through a window or door q could not , bring myself to close thenn) would
 dash cat, which, driven out at one
 place, sought another entrance For q oYf ctjoIr SY1
 obliged to fight the brutes.
 'fNot every one has had such an op- portunity to see the true nature ot
 this animal as I saw it that day, and
 have had no love for the cat since. would have you remember that these cats were not gaunt and ill-fed, bua sleek and well-conditioned, and that
 some of the milk, poured by the hand
 of him over whose body, they now fought, still remained in the dishes. I
 ask my readers to take but one step
 more and, In imagination, bring the
 above scene home to one of their own circle of cat-loving acquaintances.
 There is not a cat in the world but
 would do the same thing under like oircumstances-not as hunger-stricken 1iiSL, ldCo lo Ldce Wlln QeaLn, S0fne-
 times in the last extremity eat the
 flesh of dead comrades, but as the na.
 tural working of the unerring instinct
 of an untamable, blood revelling na-
 ture. Talk about nursing vipers! Does
 this remind you of Landseer's pictures:
 The Old Shepherds Chief Mourner?" It Is quite unnecessarily for any one
 to explain that the cat is not to blame,
 either because it is a carrier of dis
 ease or because 1t is carnivorous in it's habits; of course it isn't. Neither is
 a rattlesnake to blame for injecting
 deadly venom into ones blood, but
 that is no excuse for going to bed with
 a rattlesnake. It is not a question of
 blame, 1t is 8 question of fact, and it
 seems to, be a fact that. in spite of the
 cats admitted value as a destroyer of
 rats and mice, it is a constant mem
 ace to health, a source of dreadful anx1 Iiety to those who are So. unfortunate as
 to have death in the house, and at all
 times a cruel and deadly enemy of every song bird which seeks our com panionship or our hospitality. @
 ERNEST HAROLD BAYNEs,