Evening star., 1948-03-03
This and That
By Charles E. Tracewell

Every once in while the chipmunk shows
up in your coumn-and here he Is again, if
you can use him.
Some IL years ago my work as cadastral
engineer took me to Northern Wisconsin,
where used a small claim shack, in the woods
for several weeks as an Office.
There was a half-grown cat about the place,
and one day I CHANGED to look and saw him
playing cat and mouse with chipmunk that
he had caught.
"Of course, 1t was not play for the chipmunk
He looked more than half dead, was wet and
draggled looking, and when crawling dragged
his hind legs as though his back was broken.
The cat would put him down, 60 away for a
short distance and let him work his way pain
fully toward nearby brush pile. It was a
pitiful sight to see the little fellow slowly pull
himself toward safety time and again, only to
be pounced upon by the cat and carried back
Just when 1t seemed he might escape.
L decided to go out and put the little crea-
ture out OF its misery, but waited for one more
round to see If the cat would do 1t for me.
This time the cat walked away a little fur
ther than before and rolled over on ITS back.
This he repeated several times, jumping up
every few seconds to look at the chipmunk,
which was feebly working his way toward the
brush again.
Although the little fellows eyes looked dull,
he apparently could see very we'll and was
watching every move of the cat, for at last,
just as the cat was fiat on its back with all
four feet in the air. he came to life with almost
the suddenness of an exploding hre-cracker.
with a noisy chatter and surprising speed,
he dashed into the brush a good feet ahead
of the cat.
"We must give the cat credit for giving the
chipmunk sporting chance, and the munk for
being good actor and good judge of speed
and distance.
Very respectfully. R.wL."
First. let us get this ''cadastral" word
lined up.
According to the big Webster book, "cadas-
traP' means of, pertaining to, or for the pur-
pose of making cadastre."
So we look below-not very far, of course
and find that a cadastre is IAN official state
ment or register of the quantity value and
ownership of real estate for apportionment of
taxes"
Usually such maps are made a square inch
to the acre.
Cats are sometimes called cruel, for playing
with mice and the like, but the question re-
mains, what is cruelty?
Can such play" be called cruel, when the
mind behind it does not understand that 1t is
being cruel?
For human beings, nominally civilized, to
kill 100000 people, burning many of them In
ovens-that is cruelty, no less cruel because on
big scale.
We think there is vast difference between
such genocide, as it is now being called, and
the cat playing with its mouse, or, in this case,
its chipnlunk.
Even this animal, as our correspondent
points out had rudimentary sense of sports
rnanship. Those other animals had none.
*A
"BERWYN, Md.
Dear Sir:
Last spring robin built her nest In the
crotch OF. an apple tree which is very close to
the house. Amid much activity by us, plus the
fact that our cat who Is trained to a harness
and leash, has run on the clothesline about
feet from the tree, she stayed on regardless.
"She had her family of two and raised them
successfully to the age of fight. She was un-
usually tame-we could go up to the nest and
look at her and the little ones and 1t did not
seem to disturb her at all.
I'VE are hoping she will return again, and
what want to know is should what is left Of
the nest be permitted to remain intact or
should it be removed? Do you think she will
repair the old nest?
Very truly yours, r. G."
1t Is best to remove the old nest, since it may
harbor lice and the like. Birds need fresh ma
terials for each nesting not only for hygienic
reasons, but also because the building of the
nest Is q very vital part Of the whole process,
a. - 3va.$lx - 4rAs