The Alaska citizen., 1916-02-14

as received by this paper, is cap
 toned Some Cat" and is alleged to be the true history of a member of the feline family domestic branch, which made it's own living for sey-
 cral years in the wids of interior
 Alaska.
 "On a dark night early in Octo- Der few years ago, steamboat lay at lonely wood pile in that wild region about the Y. g. tele- graph station at Minto. The boats powerful searchlieht could not pene- trate the dense fall fog, caused by the contrast betwen water and frie- i'd atmosphere Wood had been put aboard and the tired crew of the boat were taking a much needed sleep against the coming of dawn. when the steamer would be on its way.
 "A kitten caged in a crate setting in a safe nook on the upper deck became lonesome and wormed itsef free It prowled about inyestigat- ing everything in search of human back against stateroom doors with gentle 'meows It visited the gal ley and. finding nobody home fol lowed the inviting companionwaF down to the main deck. meandared out on the guard rail and ventured ashore from the place where the boat touched the bank.
 "The ground was blankcted with winters first snow. Kitty wondered at the coldness of it, playfully shak- ing the white and beautiful from it's paw It must have been inher- ent instinct or curiosity (which pro verb tells us killed a catD that led the young feline to follow r.. tiny fresh tracks of a field mouse qlCng an old. well beaten rabbit run way through thick willows into heavy timber.
 "Tha tcat'a oantafn was anvjous te get his craft on the ways at Fair banks before the freezeup. The Ia mana was unusually low for the close of navigation and the Nenana was already throwing slush ice, Therefore, at break of day, all hands were called and the steamer proceeded to again breast the slug gish waters.
 "The strayed kittens absence was net roticed. It's owner had not been disturbed from his peaceful slumbers by the cast off whistle However, a sleepy deck hand who unfastened the stern line from the tree to which it was tied Che was a trapper in winter) remarked about fresh marten tracks on the river bank Alas, Poor Fuss would soon meet an awful fate,
 "Tha owner of the eat, when it was discovered that it was missing thought of the marauding starved swash dogs from the Indian viii lages out in search of rabbits. He also thought of what a choice nor sel his pet would make for a soft footed lynx; what easy prey for the Arctic owl, the sweeping hawk, the marten and mink and last but not least, the weasel.
 Last spring the operator in charge of the telegraph station at Minto was astonished to find large specimen of the domestic cat in one of his lynx traps, It was brown ish in color with dark stripes, and seemed very wild and savage. Luckily it was practically uninjured. It spat and fiercely clawed the air when it's captor drew near Con sequently, it had to be carried to the station in a sack, trap and all, and it required thick siwash mitts to handle it when it was taken from the trap.
 The cat fought at first when of fered food, refusing to eat but it finally fell for the tempting ever ready dish of milk. Gradually, very gradually, Tom" came around and became very tame and affectionate. It was more like a faithful dog than a cat. following it's master to great distances from the station hunting and on telegraph line repair trips, absolutely refusing to be driven back.
 "'Tom' will now do many tricks. He will lie down and roll over and also walk majestically on his hind feet at his masters command. But he is very slow to make friends.
 "The government dog team at Minto, which is part of the sta tion's equipment, consists of some husky malamutes. A few are un chained and allowed to run loose at one time. Usually, the first place they would go would be nos ing around the station, but there was no more of that after Tom came, for the big handsome cat clawed two of the largest dogs so badly that they were glad to stay away.
 Last July the boys were aroused at midnight by the loud barking of their dogs. One of them went