The Bon Homme County independent. [volume] (Tabor, S.D.) 1904-1913, 1909-09-23

NMsH 4f n ----- y tW
Five Thousand Cats ON One Weasel
and stale Esgs ON Another.
One Of the Queerest cargoes on record
5000 cats--was on a ship which sail
ed from Hamburg recently, bound for
Yokohama. Mice are a great nuisance
In japanese towns, and the harmless,
necessary feline 10 conspicuous by her
absence. Therefore, the 5000 are to
be distributed about the country to In
crease and multiply until the mice van
ish.
Many queer cargoes have crossed the
seas, writes an English traveller, and
perhaps the oldest was put aboard the
Thomas Brooks, the first vessel that
new the Cuban flag after Cuba became
an Independent republic. This consist
ed Of a little circus, the "star" mem
Der of which was an elephant, and It's
destination was a British colony. The
elephant was not a very big one, but
the steamship was particularly small.
When he was induced, after much trou-
BILE, to descend into No. / hold, they
found they couldn't put the matches
on, for his head and back came above
the deck level, and his trunk waved to
and fro, taking a friendly interest In
the legs Of passing sailor men. II he
threw bis weight to one side or the 9th
er, the ship took an alarming list to
starboard or to port.
However, the old boat waddled safe
~ over 100 miles Of the peaceful Carlb-
bean and got to port. Then the real
trouble began. The colony has a very
elaborate customs tariff, but when the
officials drew up the schedule they did
not contemplate the arrival Of els-
plants.
"You must pay duty for him as cat
tie on the hoof,'" said the landing
waiter.
NO." retorted the circus proprietor.
According to your scale Of chargsA
he may come In free under two head
ings-either as a domestic pet or an
article intended for educational pur-
poses.'"
The elephant was put in bond in a
large warehouse filed with casks Of
rum while the dispute was referred
from the landing waiter to the collector
general, from the collector general to
the colonial secretary, and from that
Official to the governor, and thence to
the attorney general, and his ex-
c~ellency's privy council. Willie all this
was being done by the telephone, the
elephant amused himself by smashing
those casks Of rum ard hopping up
their contents. Becoming e~xhilarated,
he proceeded to wreck the place; and
then a deputation Of worried officials
besought the master to do what he
liked with the beast, SO long as he took
Il out Of their way.
The government Of Haiti once sent
o warship to Kingston, Jamaica, to
fetch a cargo consisting of twenty
male and twenty female John Grow
vultures. In a spasm of reforming
seal, the black statesmen had decided
to establish a street cleaning depart
ment for the town Of Jacmel-whicb
needed it badly. Human labor was too
expensive; but they had heard what
good scavengers the Kingston John
Crows were, 90 they sent to ask the
colonial government, as a special favor,
to catch a few for them. 1t was done,
and they were put aboard with due
pomp and ceremony.
But 100000 BOBBY eggs from tht
Pedro Gays, where the birds assemble
In millions to lay them, proved about
the worst cargo. They were taken OF
q schooner to be sold for the negroes
consumption at various West Indian
ports. A good many hundreds 60
broken aboard, and-well, they weren'I
exactly violets!