Los Angeles herald., 1910-02-22
KOHLER STREET HAS
MAD WILD CAT HUNT
LAuInI = IrINLInnnIIANH InIMN
WHULE NEIU0DUnT1tiUU JUINS >
IN LONG CHASE
Sleuth from the Central Office Finally
Solves Strange Question by Find
Ing Shears, Small Boy and
an Amputated Tail

A combination of a mischievous boy, a
pair Of pruning shears and a cats tail
served yesterday to answer the question
of "Why was the cat wild?" The home
of the miscievous boy is in the cluster
of cottages in Kohler street, between
East Sixth and East Seventh streets.
AS for the cat, it had no home previ-
GUS to yesterday The pruning shears
which created the trouble, resulting in
wild cat' scare which almost re-
suited in the police reserves being
called out, were lost in the shuttle to
capture and kill the cat, so their own
erShip was not ascertained by the po-
lice
Patrolman Riggs solved the question
of "Why was the cat Wild?' when he
found it's bodyless tail lying upon a
heap of refuse piled in the alley at the
rear of the mischievous boys home.
From there he followed a trail of bloody
footprints and located the tailless cat
upon the roof of a neighborS porch.
Richard Hilf, secretary in charge of
the police roster in the office of the po-
lice lieutenants is patient and perse-
vering. One of his duties is to answer
telephone calls and explain the intrica-
cies of the muddled city ordinances to
citizens who want to know whether it
is safe to violate the city's laws. When
he took down the receiver yesterday at
noon he had half formed the customary
sentence-"No, you are on the wrong
side of the curb'-when a mans gruff
voice interrupted him, saying: Hey,
there's a wild cat at Seventh and
Kohler streets. May 1 shoot it?"
TIilf asked a question or two, which
elected the hysterica1 response: Eyes,
1 am sure it is a wild cat. 1t looks as
big as a cougar"
Hflf warned the inquirer that it
would be unsafe to discharge firearms
in that crowded residence locality and
directed the anxious citizen to find a
policeman, who was authorized to do all
the shooting that might be required.
Presently Patroiman Riggs walked
around the corner. Into his ears were
repeated a dozen wild stories about the
wild cat" which now had grown and
reached the proportions of mountain
lion.
Riggs, valiant hunter that he is, un-
buckled his pistol holster, and with his
baton in one hand and revolver in the
ether, he led nondescript crowd of
men, boys, women and children in the
hunt. The policeman's trained eye OBJ
served a splotch of blood, then the
prints Of the cats feet, which had an
outline of red. Followed bravely by the
crowd, which kept at a discreet dis
tance, Riggs pursued the trail of red
footprints over fences, under fences
across lots, up one side of a shed or
porch roof and down the other, carry
ing a ladder over his left arm to assist
him in his quest.
Finally Riggs came upon a cats tail
One glance at it settled the identity
of the wild cat" and notified Tom,
whose miaows often had disturbed the
sleep of the honest householders in
Kohler street, became the object of the
search. Shortly after he was found.
crouched beneath the caves of a nearby
house, the policeman heard the story
of the mischieVous boy and the pruning
shears.
"I jes' wanted to dock Tommy's tail"
was the only explanation the youngster
offered.