Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-10-11
Old st. PauI's Churchyard in
New York City.
COLONY OF TOMS ABOUNDS
Tombs of the Historic Church I'm.
disputed Ground.
DEATH FOR STRANGE CATS
No Dude" Felines Dare Invade the
Bachelor Stronghold-Fed at
the Post Office.
Special Correspondence Of The Star.

lAC OSL 0mCS.
Special Correspondence OF The Star.
NEW YORK. September 70. 1908.
In old st. Paul's churchyard. diagonally
across from the post Office in lower Broad
way, there is a colony of cats which for
several years has been a source OF terror
to the pet Tables owned by tenants In
the office buildings or that neighborhood.
II is a strictly bachelor colony. and never
has female cat been seen In the church.
yard All are battle-scarred veterans.
who have perhaps left the roofs OF their
former owners to live under the shadow
of st. Pauis spire.
The toms make their homes inside the
dilapidated tombs. Many OF these tombs
have crumbled away. The bricks have
become displaced. leaving holes sufficient
ly large for the cats to crawl In beneath
the moss-covered marble slabs. Inside oil
is snug and warm. Down there. under
the slabs. the cats have made beds OF
leaves and grass. Some OF these nests
are six feet below the surface In crum-
bling collins. whose contents have long
since turned to dust.
Each Cat Has Tomb Of Its Own.
Each OF the tom cats has q tomb OF his
own. for they are exclusive in tho matter
Of sleeping. While now and then two or
three of the bachelor colony will make
joint attack upon an intruder. the
bachelor cats do not forage In company
nor do they show any particular friend
ship for each other. In fact. every one
Of the eight bachelor toms seems to have
crouch against all his kind and all
the world. Possibly 1t was that which
led each member of the colony to seek
the quiet OF the churchyard.
So far as food goes. the bachelor cats
of old st. Paufs have an easy time of IL.
For many years il has been a rule at the
post Office to feed the cats OF the neigh
borhood at o'clock each afternoon in
the basement Of the post ONCE building
A small sum of money is appropriated
each year for this purpose. The post
office authorities believe that by feeding
the cats In the basement the cats Will aid
which are destructive to mail matter.
Fed With Chopped Liver.
The theory Is that regular meals will
attract the stray cats to the post ONCE
building. Each afternoon at 4 O'Clock
an employee Of the post Office throws a
lot of chopped-up liver into one of the
entryways leading to the basement.
The bachelor cats Of old st. Pauls are
always there to get their share and to
fight for 1t, IL necessary. Now and then
perhaps they do catch rat In the post
They prefer to nap between meal times in
the churchyard or to prowl about the
neiehborhood looking for scraps" Their
tastes are simple. Their greatest pleasure
seems to be the one which makes the lit
tie colony a terror to the self-respecting
Office cats OF the neighborhood, that OF
waylaying the dude cats and soundly
them.
There are many dude cats in the big Of
flee buildings within a radius Of half a
dozen blocks OF old ST. PauIs. These cats
are usually pets OF the stenographers In
the offices. Sometimes they are owned
by the clerks or sometimes by the heads
of the business firms.
Dude Cats Start q Rumpus.
Occasionally a dude cat belongs to .
janitor. Often these dude cats have
dainty little ribbons around their necks.
Now and then one has a little silver
bell attached to the ribbon. The dude Of
flee cats are unusually sleek and clean and
drinty 10 degree. They are well fed
and petteG, and their lives are one long,
sweet song. Needless to say, the sight OF
a dude cat TO these veterans OF a hundred
fights is like the waving of a red rag
To d bull.
There IS much similarity in the method
of attack adopted by the bachelor toms.
When dude cat is spied by one OF them,
Ea creeps ur behind the unsuspecting vic
tim, and with one bound Is upon him.
Like flash the sharp claws OF the bach
elo: begin to rip and tear at the body OF
the dude Over and over they roll i'm the
street. Usually the dude cat is dead in a
few minutes. unless some one interferes 10
save the unfortunate.
Policemen who have been on duty in
tina; part of the city many years say the
lItt!e colony of bachelor cats has grown
In recent years. and that every addition to
the colony is admitted only after fierce
battle. Every cat which lives in the
tombs of old st. Paul's has name. Most
of the names were given by employees OF
tn. post office.
"Tom Platt'' the Belwether.
The largest and strongest of the church,
yard clan is Tom Plat. This bachelor cat
Is the oldest of the colony, and is said to
have been the first cat to choose the
rhu1 chyard as his home. Tom Plat has
lost orc ear One of his eyes Is sight
less. the result of some fight Of long ago.
His skin is bare in places. showing where
a rivals claws furrowed along. taking
with them the fur. Tom Platt's tail has
been broken. But in spite OF his years
(he must be about ten years old, Tom
Plat. has still strength and skill SUM-
cient 10 hold his own against the others
in the yard.
Theodore Roosevelt is one of the more
recent acquisitions to the churchyard
colony Theodore is one OF the most
bloodthirsty of all the churchyard clan.
Watchmen and others who are in the old
ST. Paul's section at night say he has
killed at least a dozen dude cats in the
last three years. His appearance at the
three years ago was the sig
nal for a general onslaught. Roosevelt
won his spurs after three days and nights
of intermittent fighting. the watchmen
say And now he has one of the best