The Lakeland evening telegram. (Lakeland, Fla.) 1911-1922, 1917-01-27
How the Cats Came to
Strongsvile
By M. QUAD
r;sht 1916, by the Mcclure
OoF Newspaper Syndicate.

,hst be was DOTH hohA va anu "1'n
.-ls,ed leg besides. His parents died
~, he was ten years old. and Hez
me a sort of child outlaw. He
wsndered here and there till he finally
Titled in Strongsville.
usz found the farming class much
,,ore sympathetic than the villagers.
49,, he was imposed on by them to
ss,,,in degree. When he had got to be
rou,h OF fourteen or fifteen he could
Ne corn or potatoes or chop and split
-o,l as well as almost any man. They
~ould hire him by the week and give
MIN such food and lodgings az they
Jaw fit, and when he was through with
~, week he was given some old clothes
ara few cents In money.
The years passed on until Hezekiah
rsstwenty, and he was more of an out
law than ever. A man named Brooks
uent 10 work In the sawmill at Strongs-
vile. He was an old bachelor. and he
rented small house and lived alone.
In lassing the boy on the street one
dsy he must have given the victim
look Of sympathy, for when he got back
10 his house again he found HeZekiah
seated on his doorstep. He invited him
IN and gave him meal and a good
bed. From that day the unfortunate
had home.
To make clear what followed the
reader must know that Strongsville
had a strong antipathy to cats. 1t was
founded on sanitary principles. There
had once been an epidemic of scarlet
fever and again an epidemic of mea-
sles, and the doctors had agreed that
the germs of both were carried from
house to house by the feline population.
Thus II came about that the cats were
exterminated to the last one and the
mice had play day every day in the
year. The old bachelor learned this
fact as soon as he talked of renting u
house in the village. He was told that
II be brought a cat along with him
she would certainly be poisoned off in
short order.
One day after Hezekiah had had a
home for six months he went to work
for a certain farmer at wages set by
Mr., Brooks, who had become a guard
Ian to him. After working for three
or four days Hezekiah unearthed box
Of gold coin amounting to $1,000. They !
we're English coins and had been buried /
In the long agO-so long ago that the
box had become mere punk. He car
red the money home with him wrap
ped In his old coat, and II sent forth
metallic clinks as 1t was thrown on the
table. He was smiling almost for the
first time in year, and after an effort
be managed to say:
Il dug 1t out Of the ground"
Did you tell the farmerf" asked
Mr. Brooks when he had recovered
from his establishment.
Not a word" was replied.
WELL" continued the old bachelor
after the money had been counted,
'ths find has made you rich, but don't
cay anything about it to any one. The
people of this town have used you .
shamefully, and | want to see you get
even with them. You know what
mean, don't your"
In reply Hezekiahs 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 it.
In thinking how he might revenge
the young mans wrongs the old BACH
eOr brought up the cat question. and
be 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 200 felines in its place.
That wagon re-entered the village at
II o'clock at night, when every man,
woman and child was sleeping his first
sleep. 1t paused in front Of the town
nail 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 300
more re-enforcements and again the
Third night. The town had now been
turned into cat town. 1t had more
cats walking the fences or seated
around the back doors than any town
OF four times its size I'm this state. BY
night 1t was a constant serenade that
prevented sleep except at brief inter
'as There were enough cats to car
~ the germs of dozen epidemics. 1t
= a cat town today.l Men were hired
" the week to shoot or trap them,
OUT kittens were born about as fast
Us Old cats were killed of, and at last
ue people gave up and settled down
70 bear the infection with what pains
they could.
after the cat invasion was a month
0iu the bachelor said to the half wit:
Hezekiah, you know what cat is
don't your
nezekiah nodded and grinned.
After paying all expenses Of dump
s 90 cats into Strongsville l have
.''Ooo OF your gold left. am going
In. l. a