The daily Alaskan., 1917-01-30
How the Cats Came to StrOngsville
 By M. QUAD Copyright, 1916, by the Mcclure Newspaper Syndicate.
By M. QUAD

GWlSIeQ leg DeSlueS. LIS pdESuJS uleu when he was ten years old, and Hez became a sort of child outlaw. He wandered here and there till he finally settled in Strongsyille.
 He's found the farming class much mora sympathetic than the villagers, but he was imposed on by them to 6 certain degree. When he had got to be a youth of fourteen or fifteen he could hoe corn or potatoes or chop and split wood as we'll as almost any man. They would hire him by the week and give him such food and lodgings as they saw it, and when he was through with bis week he was given some old clothes or a few cents in money.
 The years passed on until Hezekiah was twenty, and he was more of an out law than ever. A man named Brooks went to work in the sawmin at Srongs- vile. He was an old bachelor, and he rented small house and lived alone. In passing the boy on the street one day he must have given the victim a look of sympathy, for when he got back to his house again he found Hezekiah seated on his doorstep. He invited him in and gave him a meal and 8 good bed. From that day the unfortunate had a home.
 To make clear what followed the reader must know that Strongsyille had strong antipathy to cats, It was founded on sanitary principles. There had once been an epidemic of scarlet fever and again an epidemic of mea- sIes, and the doctors had agreed that the germs of both were carried from house to house by the feline population. Thus 1t came about that the cats were exterminated to the last one and the mice had a play day every day in the year. The old bachelor learned this fact as soon as he talked of renting a house in the village. He was told that if he brought a cat along with him she would certainly be poisoned of in short order.
 One day after Hezekiah had had a home for six months he went to work for certain farmer at wages set by MT. Brooks, who had become a guard ian to him. After working for three or four days Hezekiah unearthed box of gold coin amounting to S5,0OO. They were English coins and had been buried in the long ago-so long ago that the box had become mere punk. He car ried the money home with him wrap ped in his old coat, and 1t sent forth metallic clinks as 1t was thrown on the table. He was smiling almost for the first time In a year, and after an effort he managed to say:
 "I dug 1t out of the ground" "Dtd you tell the farmer" asked Nr. Brooks when he had recovered from his astonishment
 Mot a word," was replied.
 We'll, continued the old bachelor after the money had been counted, 'tIthis find has made you rich, but don't say anything about 1t to any one. The people of this town have used you shamefully, and want to see you get even with them. You know what l mean, don't youT"
 In reply Hezekiah's face lighted up, and he nodded his head. He had been aware for long time that no one had played him fair, but he felt his help. lessness to resent 1t.
 In thinking how he might revenge the young mans wrongs the old bach elor brought up the cat question, and he soon had his plans laid. The next tin peddler that came along was stop ped and held in private conversation for half an hour, and then he winked and laughed and drove away. He stored his tinware temporarily and loaded up POO felines in its place.
 That wagon re-entered the village at il o'clock at night, when every man, woman and child was sleeping his first sleep. It paused in front of the town hall, and the door was opened, and the cats came bouncing out.
 Two hundred cats might have been exterminated in time, but the tin ped dler returned next evening with POO moro re-enforcements and again the third night. The town had now been turned Into cat town It had more cats walking the fences or seated around the back doors than any town of four times its size in this state. By night it was a constant serenade that prevented sleep except at brief inter- vals. There were enough cats to car ry the germs of a dozen epidemics. It is a cat town today. Men were hired by the week to shoot or trap them, but kittens were born about as fast as old cats were killed off, and at last the people gave up and settled down to bear the infiichon with what pains they could.
 After the cat invasion was month old che bachelor said to the half wit:
 "Hezekiah, you know what a cat is, don't you?'
 Hezekiah nodded and grinned.
 After paying all expenses of dump ing 600 cats into StrongsVille 1 have $4,500 of your gold left. am going to put it in the bank for you and send you to New York city to see if the ,,,-1aoDs cor- mako vOu over. I hope