The Waterbury Democrat., 1941-03-14

ed has strayed over from Con- necticut after the great forest fire in Eastern Connecticut in 1880. That shows what the folks in Rhode Island will swallow. If that | cat had been big enough to travel in 1880, it would be eleven years old NOW. Just ask any Woodsman what an eleven-year-old wildcat will weigh.
 We maintain that the Rhode Island wildcat was nothing but 8 stray house cat gone native. We also maintain that if 1t had been q real wildcat, it was nothing but . kitten. Nate Evarts has a pelt now that came fof q cat much longer than the critter shot over there near Newport. Nate didn't go around bragging about having shot any monster. He mOdestly thunked the thing over the head with a club, took 1t out of the trap, and has been trying to sell the pelt ever since. There are no bidders on wildcat fur.
 Newsfolk should know more about nature before they start spilling ink telling the public what they don't know. Wildcats are just as liable to be native to Rhode Island as they are to inhabit this ridge up here called Rattlesnake. Wildcats don't wait for forest fire to travel. They travel when the urge strikes them. They're as liable to follow a migration of gray squirrels as they are to hustle away when the brush catches fire from some dame's carelessly tossed cigarette. Wildcats like to travel. They get mopey If they stay around one woodlot all the time.
 Lyme Parmalee's wife, resident of South Canaan. told us about an animal killed on Raggie a few years ago. She gave a first class description of a panther, but she wasn't always accurate as to the exact measurements of the animal so we didn't write the story.
 If this column had been in 8 Rhode Island paper, we suppose 1t would have been necessary to ex- plain that partners aren't native to Connecticut, and that the beast killed on Raggie was just a pas serby, or a drifter-over from some other State.
 Connecticut has had a lot of trouble with other States claiming we have chased undesirable ami mals off our hillsides and over the State Line. After BOxcar Annie burned over Flagg Swamp that time, lots of folks in York State started to suggest that we arrang- ed the fire just to get rid of an 0versupply of cOoqis. (COOns ledge in Flagg Swamp. They don't tree. Johnny Sh0rtt will tell you that)
 Now, it's foolish to think any Yankees would Intentionally scare away game that could be used at home. We've got Yale College in our State, and about the time of the Flagg Swamp Catastrophe, the Yale men were going strong for coon coats. Every year, our Mems Club arranges Coon Supper and feeds out several coons to the guests who usually kick in four bits a head. We can use all the coons, and wildcats, we can get to train dogs on regardless of the price of fur.
 Let's not bet on any more h0rs- es running in Rhode Island. Let's show those people that they can- not islander Connecticut and get away with 1t. We haven't burned out any wildcats to go oyer into their reservation at all. We do contribute freely toward keeping their State out of debt by sending ever lots of summer folks every year. ff Rhode Island Is raising wildcats, maybe our good people better stay on the Connecticut eli0re.