rv-
PET OF A SHEEP R‘ANCHER.
no Finds a Wildcat Better Than a Dog
to Drive 01’! Coyotes.
A sheep ranch near Ash Fork, 'A. T.,
J. H. Abshire, has discovered that wild-
cat-s can be domesticated, and are then
as nice pets as any purring Maltese or
,tortoise-shell tabbies. He has one that
follows him everywhere, acting both as
protector and companion. , It is a big,
striped and spotted animal, with glar-
ing yellow eyes, whiskers like porcupine
quills and a tail as glossy and sinuous
in its windings as any jungle tiger's.
“How did I happen to take a wildcat
for a household pussy?” repeated Mr.
'Abshire during a recent interview. “I’ll
tell you about it. I was herding sheep
one day, and was standing on the tOp
of a cliff. Looking down on a ledge of
:rocks projecting from the cliffs below
I sx-w a very large, ferocious-looking
nvildcat. She {had tassels on her ears,
and was lashing her tail from side to
side and glaring at me and growling
angrily. I stood spellbound for amin-
uie, and, not having any gun, l was at
a loss to know what to do. I spied a
huge bowldcr on the e" 3e of the ledge,
right over this cat, and, using all my
strength, I pushed it over. She was
too quick for it- and dodged. \"hen I
looked down again she had disappeared.
“I concluded there must be a cave,
and perhaps a. nest of kittens, so I lay
in wait a few minutes to see if the cz‘t
would make her appearance again. I
was ready for her this time, as I had
secured a lot of rocks and intended to
shower them upon her. I did not have
very long to wait, for out she came,
looking fiercer than before. I let the
rocks go, and that time there were too
many of them for her to dodge. One
struck her on the back and broke it,
and after that I easily put an end to
, her. I then crawled down the cliff a
short distance, and peered over as far
as I could, and discovered there were
two very small kittens in the cavern.
Their eyes were not yet open. I made
up my mind I would have. them. It
took me some time to plan how I could
get 10 them, as the cliff was almost per-
pendicular. It was with great. dill-i-
culty that I finally captured l my
prizes. .I took off my coat and wrapped
it around them and started home. When
1 reached there I laid them down at. the
base of a big juniper tree. My I -ge
hound, Adam, came. bounding up, and,
to my surprise, seemed as pleased over
my kits as I was. He at once began to
lick them, and laid down beside them.
The kittens crawled over him and
seemed to think he was a good substi-
tute for their mother. I gave them
sheep’s milk, which they seemed to
thrive on. They would lie all day
under the trees with the hound, and
he would never let my shepherd dog
come near them. They grew very fast,
and we all became very much attached
to my strange pets.
“At sheep shearing time we drove
the sheep into Ash Fork. I packed the
burros and made a. box for the wild
cats and lashed them on top. When
we reached town that evening I let
them out to run around the sheep shed.
While Adam was eating his supper a.
large dog came in and killed one of the
cats. Next morning, as we were pass-
ing down the street, wit-h Adam and the
wildcat following, We created quite a
sensation. Some people were afraid of
the cat—others were anxious to pet
him, seeing me caress him, but he ob-
jected to strangers and \ uld arch his
back and spit. furiously.
“While we were at a saloon near the
depot. the passenger train came. in. Sev-
eral of the eastern tourists came rush-
ing over to thesaloon foradr' They
had just poured out whisky all aiorv'i
when they turned and s9' the wildcat
sitting there looking at them. They
started for the train on t- , r.m, the;
whisky standing and not. {“tting their
change. I shall try to keep him on. of
sight of the tenderfoot after this. I
don’t want to scare them 1 death, but
the cat is all right and the finest pet I
ever had. I wouldn’t part with him
at' any price. Hc ; death on coyotes,
and keeps all those sheep-..-lling ras-
cals away from our ranch.”——San l‘ ".n-
cisco Examiner.
(
THE GOODLY SWORD.
The Egyptian Gave It the Name Fifty Cen-
turies Ago. at
Half a hundred centuries ago the
Egyptians gave to the sword its name
Since those old days the history of the
trenchant. blade, stained with blood and
defaced by the scans of battle though
it is, holds much of the glory, the po-
etry, and the chivalry of the cruel game
of war.
A friend whose fidelity never wavered
and whose power never failed, it is not
surprising that men endowed the sword
not only with-human attributes, but
with the might and majesty of the
gods themselves. ‘ The old legends
abound in tales of its magical powers.
liow the divine armorers strove con-
tinually to excel some rival in the forg-
ing of a. blade of a. temper so delicnte
that it might cut a. thread with the
same case with which it struck ahead
from the body, or hewed through heavy
metal armor, was a. favorite subject of
the old Teutonic and Viking tales.
These legendary blades bore char.
acteristic names, by which they were
invariably known. Graysteel, Wader
through Sorrow and Millstone Biter
were swords of wide renown; and we
all remember how Arthur of the Round
Table took “Excalibur . . . the
sword that rose from out the bosom
of the lake.” Caesar’s sword was called
“Crocca Mors;” Charlemagne’s “Joye-
use” played no small part in the set-
ting up of the great Frankish empire;
many a bold captain went down be-
fore “El Tizona,” wielded by the re-
lentless hands of the Cid—Mary Stuart
McKinney, in St. Nicholas.
——The greatest depth, writes Prof.
Seeley in his "Story of the Earth,” at
which earthquakes are known to orig-
inate, is about 30 miles. It has also
been calculated that a heat sufficient
to meltgranite might occur at about
she same depth.
.WEEKLY-
A MEXICAN CATHEDRAL.
It Is Lined with Millions Worth of Pre-
cious Metals.
During a journey from Panama, west
and north, overland through the Span-
ish Main to Paso del Norte, Mexico,
opposite El Paso, 'I‘ex., I was bound to
see not a. little of the churches and the
priests, and to hear no end of stories of
the doings in connection with them,
but of all that I saw and heard nothing-
seemed quite so impressive as my first
glance into the great cathedral at Pueb-
lo, Mexico. People throughout the
journey had told me often that of all
churches of the region this was the
most magnificent, invariably explain-
ing their admiration by saying that
here was a church so rich that in spite
of losses of millions of dollars’ worth
of gold and silver taken from it by the
Mexican rulers, there remained no less
than $11,000,000 worth of precious
metals within thewalls, besides other
articles of value. That about every
English-speaking man I met in the
Spanish Main should have gauged the
interest in the church by the amount of
precious metal within its wall was in it-
self a matter worth considering, and so,
although not especially interested in
somebody clsc’s boarded wealth, I went
to the cathedral first of all after reach.
ing Pueblo. It was about ten o’clock
in the morning—an hour when I was
likely to find few people there. Pass-
ing- through what seemed to be the
mosr-uscd entrance, I found a fewfect
beyond the door a small stand draped
with a cloth that fell to the stone flag-
ging. 1n the center of the stand was
a plate of solid gold, (31/2 inches in
diameter and an eighth of an inch
thick. On this gold plate, which was
placed there to receive contributions,
lay a copper cent of the coinage of the
country.
Quite a number of visitors came and
went while I was in the cathedral, and a
considerable portion of them comment-
ed in English on what they saw. I
heard one nice-looking old lady say to
another nice old lady: “If Brother Tal-
mage could see this—millions of gold
on the walls, and on thesaints—isn’t
it beautiful?—but so pagan!” I saw
other strangers come in, and after one
comprehensive look around walk across
the flagging and kneel before an image,
with every appearance of sincere dc-
votion. Others, the majority of the
foreigners who entered, in fact, looked
about with idle curiosity for a time and
then went out. But so far as I ob-
served, no one except myself gave any
attention to‘the striking portrayal of
the wealth of the recipient and the pov-
erty of the donor which the gold plate
and the copper cent afforded. And that
seemed too bad, for if it be agood, prac-
tical, sensible, thing to pile up wealth
in a church building, penny by penny,
then here was an example for all man-
kind; while if there is anything that
ought to be criticised in such doings,
then here was the object 1esson.—N. Y.
Sun.
VIEWS ON CATS.
Leaves from Little Tommy’s Composition
Book.
This is an old subject which is liked
by girls, but not by boys.
The proper name for cats is, I believe,
felines. I don’t know what they call
them felines for, but they do, just the
same.
You'can find cats all over the world,
with the exception of our back yard.
Some cats live on milk, fish, meat,
mice and that kind of stuff, but all cats
that I’ve ever seen seem to live on the
back fences.
I have heard of cats of nine tails and
cats of nine lives, but I’ve never met any
of ’em. All the cats that I ever had
anything to do with had only one tail
and one life, and a mighty short life at
that.
They say it’s good luck to have a cat
follow you. I suppose they mean it’s
good luck for the cat; for ninety-nine
times out of one hundred when a cat
follows you you remember about it’s
being unlucky to have a cat follow you;
and you pick the eat up when no one is
looking, take it to your house and give
it a good home.
I know of a. cat that was fooled
once. The gump followed me, and 1
never had any luck afterward. Neither
did the cat. He went where all good
cats go—over in the vacant lot.
Some people stuff their cats after
they die. “7e tried to keep a eat more
times than I have marbles. But they all
died. The majority of them were stuffed
—in the ash barrel. Nobody seemed to
know what made the cats die but Skin-
ny Sniggles, Brick Taylor and 1.
Cats like to rub up against a fellow,
but I never saw a cat that wanted to rub
up against me more than once.
I would rather be a dog than a cat.
Dogs don’t like cats.
I don’t believe in sicking dogs on cats.
I believe it’s cruelty to animals to sick
a. dog on a cat. ' The best way to do is
to hit the cat with a club. Cats like to
yell all night. To see your little cat
in the house before the fire and to hear
him yell at night you would never be-
lieve it to be the same cat, and you can’t
find anybody that can'make you be-
lieve it, either. It’s always the other
fellow’s cat that makes the noise.4an
Francisco Wave.
Our Vessels in the Lead.
The Vulcan, 6,620 tons, with a radius
of action of 12,000 miles at ten knots an
hour, or 3,000 at 18 knots, is regarded
as one of the most capable ships in the
British navy. Her French compcer is
the Tage, 7,255 tons, which has a radius
of 6,500 miles at ten knots. The Italia,
15,000 tons, Italy’s best ship, has a coal
capacity of 8,036 miles at ten knots
an. hour. From this it will be seen that
no EurOpean navy has any vessel that
can compare with the Oregon and other
vessels of the United States navy which
can steam 16,000 miles at ten knots an
hemp—N. Y. Tribune.
-—“He stood up at the top of the
' steps,” she said, in telling about it aft-
erwards, “and I mustered up enough
courage to say: ‘You know this is leap
year?’ "’ “Yes. What then 1'” “Then
he leaped and I haven’t seen him since.”
Chicago I’ost.
it
IHHMVALK-GAZETTE.
“WHY LOVE, IT WAS MY OOUSINR’
ward. by n. wmmn.
mf
too, But oh, what a
I must have been hard hit.
soon,
Tempo dz‘ Valse.
on the beach one day, A charming girl I met;
famous Sheepshead Bay, And there saw lovely ‘ ‘ Kit.”
girl Lou ~i - sa Jones, Said she would rid-ing go,
coquette.
once, I Wish I’d not done so.
coy - 1y answered “yes.”
got a “tip” thatday;
heart sank ver - y 10w;
(2 pal—2
wom - an, Jessi
feet a -way.
gain, you know.
Pu,
‘1"
WALTZ SONG WITH REFRAIN.
Music by EDUABD' ROI-ST.
1. While walking
2. I went to
3. That cth'ming
She was a charming creature
She got a fi - ver from me
Of course I hired a rig at
I asked her would she bathing go, She
She said she’d ‘ ‘pick the winner” sure, She’d ‘
The ax - 1e broke; I on my head, My
My wife ap-peared, ’tis al - ways so, “Who was that
But when they reached the wire, he,
Lou -i - ea Jones was al- most dead—My wife a-
Was for - ty
Copyright, 1894'. by The New York Musical Echo Co.
A
“Of course it was my cousin,”
. “Is that the self- same cousin,
I’m tir -_ ed of this business
you were out a shopping
no, she sent her sis - ter,
will go home to mamma.”
“Why love, it was my cousin,
“Look here, is that your cousin?”
“That is the sev-enth cousin,
Whom you met the 0th - er
Said my Wife, oh what a
In ex-act- 1y sev-en
So quick-1y I did say,
You met the 0th - er day?”
,— And of your fick - 16 ways;
.9.
And Spend - ing all
The ra - ces for
“Oh "no, my love
f
my pay,
to play,
do stay;
I thought I‘d take my cousin
So just to please my cousin, I
And not an - 0th - er cousin,
Just to pass the time a-way.”
am show-ing her the way.”
dear, Shall ev - er come my way.”
fl
'HIS LEG iS PULL‘E‘D.
That Is How a Southern Congressman
Regards His Lot.
“Some people may think that a con-
gressman saves a pile of money out of
hissalary,” said a. well-known southern
congressman, who was talking to a
Washington Sta-r reporter on the vicis-
situdes of running for office, and es-
pecially for congress, “but a man has to-
bea small walking bank to accommo-
date the largc number of his ‘friends’
and supporters whonced a little money
for some_urgent matter. In my state
we have to make campaigns and appear”
before the people at meetings. Well, I
have never attended a meeting but that:
I did not have some kind of a subscrip-
tion poked into my face. Somebody
wants something for a church and for
missionary purposes or for helping
some fellow who has been burned out.
“You can’t avoid subscribing, and
have to head the list with the largest
sum. Then about the time you think
you are through with having your leg'
pulled some lazy fellow will walk up
and say: .‘How do, gineral? I had ter
quit my work ter come out and hear you
terday, and I thunk yer mout giv’ me
a dollar.’ While you have the greatest
contempt for the man, you give him the
dollar.
“When you leave the meeting you are
out anywhere from $20 to $50. Those
are just a few instances of whats, candi-
date has to spend money for. After he
gets through the campaign and is elected
he has to furnish every dead heat from
his district who should happen to come
to Washington with money. I've ac.-
tually given them money and railroad
tickets to get home and have them go
back and work against. me.”
IRONY OF FATE.
1t Pursues Two Eminently Respectnble
Ladies Who Could Not Agree.
Not long ago there were two ladies
stopping at the same boarding house.
They were single ladies, be it said, and
both highly respectable. But for some
reason, says the Minneapolis Times,
known only to themselves, they
“couldn’t gct along,” and matters wont.
between them from bad to worse till.
they “quit speaking.”
They both got tired, of course, living"
in the same house with amortal enemy,
and finally both determined to move.
Arrangements were made, and, as luck.
would have it, both moved the same
day. Lady No. 1 loaded up her house~-
hold goods in the morning, and in the
afternoon a dray pulled up and car—
ried away the trunk, shawlstraps, and
other ei“:cts of lady No. 2.
Lady No. 1 was just composing her-
self to view the surroundings of her
new lodging ‘ .ace, when a wagon.
stopped at the front door and began to
unload a collection of ..::,icles unmiSo
takably feminine. Six» sized up the.
trunk and went downstairs, filled with.
a. horrible suspicion, to interview the
landlady.
Her suspicions were true. They had
moved into the same house. .
There is no more to the story. Of
Course, they should have made up their
differences and lived in peace and char—v
ity ever after. But they did not. Lady
No. 2 never got her trunk inside of the
house. , . . .
g; DEAF MUTES DANCE. ‘.
A Jam in; Mummy on the Piano Keeps
lit-9* g.-. the Step for Them.
‘ A social club of deaf mutes exists in
Warsaw since 1883, and as there are
a large unmber of persons thus afflict-
ed in the capital of Russian Poland, the
club is doing very well. During the
last week of carnival the club arranged
a ball, and in order to enable the mem-
ber to dance to the music in time, a
very curious plan was adopted, which
proved quite efficient. A large paper
(1011 was rigged up on the piano, and
the player, also a deaf mute, who fur-
nished the music, which, [of course,
could not be heard by the members of
the club, used a. pedal to make the
paper figure moveup and down in time
with the piece played. A large sign
alongside announced the character of
the dance, and thus it became possible
for the deaf mutes to enjoy the dances
as if they were not afflicted with their
organic shortcomings. Besides that,
they were spared the agony of those
who could hear, for some wag had tam-
pered with the. piano, which was fright:
fully out of tune, even the player never
noticing that fact. The deaf mutes
danced into the carly morning hours
and unanimcuzlt‘ voted the entertain-
ment a magnifient success.
DEAD, YET ALIVE.
An Interestin': Enoch Arden Casein an
; English Court. v
t. A curious Enoch Arden case, in’which
the lord jus.,ce ( a; pcal had to inter-
vene in oral-ci- to brine a man to life
again legally, has just been decided in
England. Forty-two years ago a wom-
an married a sailor in the British navy,
who deserted, went to the United
States and was not heard of again for
36 years. Six years after his disap-
pearance she married another man,
with whom she lived for 18 years, but
from whom she at last obtained a judi-
cial separation and alimony in 1892.
The second husband pleaded that his
marriage was null, as her first hus-
band was alive at the time, but the jury
in the divorce court found that the man ,
was dead. ‘Last year husband No. :3
discovered husband No. 1, brought suit
again and produced him in court, where
he was fully identified,‘but the judge
held that as a. jury had declared he was
dead, he could not admit. that he; was
alive and dismissed the suit. The appel-
late judges seem to be of his opinion,
for they refused to allow the appeal and
annul the marriage on the ground of .
the man’s being alive till the second ‘
husband had given security that he
would pay the woman an allowance.
Tilting Up a. Whole Continent.
The west coast of South America for >
about 100,000 square miles was raised '
. in some places three feet and in other
places six feet in the short space of a
few, hours. ‘ . 7 . 1 '
Norwalk Chronicler