The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, January 24, 1897, Page 19

— S et e eI~ THE SAN FRANCISCO CALL, SUNDAY, JANUARY 24, 1897. 19 0dd Pets of Qur Society People The Feminine Mind in San Francisco Inclines to Birds, Cats and Small Dogs as a General Thing 4OME years age. there appeared ina | O the subject of pets. The title, as remembered, was ““The Girl for Me”; the argument that although various animals were petted by various young women, thereby showed their kindhearted- who ness and general amiability, there was only one kind of a pev the possession of which proved its owner to be endowed with all womanly charms and virtues. Dogs, cats, parrots and canaries were all very well, the poet declared, but only a damsel who petted “the gentle gazelle” could hope to win his heart. Were that poet in San Francisco t his heart must needs remain in his own keening, since diligent inquiry has failed to cover such an animai among our city’s many pets. The femi ind here, elsewhere, inclines to birc smal dogs, as a general thing; the m to horses and the larg eties of the genus canis, and ‘‘the s silvery feet” is not mand. The day of the Eng lent snarly shoulider-brace attachm sculine <h pug—the corp le fellow, with the nd double Alsatian bow Heis no longer and although he may still be v a few fond hearts, his sieck has gone down much below par among his whilo ety friends. In his place now appears the pretty little Japanese spaniel, miscalled the Ja nese pue, and no one ia town has a more charming spe- cimien of this breed than Miss Jennie B Miss Blair is ng her friends for her fondness for dogs, h as are of d she owns only su most aristocratic lineage. Her dogs are all perfectly trained, but there are no ks in their course of study. They are pets pure and simple, and livet lives freely and happily, rej mistress’ kindness by the m attachment. Two of Miss Bla Yorkshire terrier a have died recently, but maining, of which a Yo ported three months s most notable. S finest animal of try, ana isa s four re- re terrier, im- is perhaps the i 1 to be the ow in this coun- 3 ul creature, weighing only four and t ter pounds, and possessed of a pedigree as long as **M Cleish’s ge dochter.”” Of her two re- ma; fine Cocker spaniels, Jill and is specially noted for her ami- ut Shiks, the lit- arly as much of a favor- ika, which means “dear,” is one | stand most valuable of her tocratic 1 She seems tsheis a dog “of high de- olds ler comical little wrin- n air accordingly, though le to flattery and graciously 1g in her manners. hur T. Rey rger divides his between his "ceilo and ns tinguishes Mrs. Edgerton, Mrs. King's sister, with his regard. | Miss Ina D. Coolbrith, the poet, though | credited with the ownership of several | n cats, in reality owns but two, both teline pulchritude. Calla,who eached tue extremely advanced age, weet sixteen,” is a pure- ngora. Her coat, which is as e and white as dandelion and down, is four inches long on her back and sdes, and ber tail is a marvel of plumy beauty She has a remarkably pretty face, with very large eyes, a nose and the small round ears of istocratic race. Originally from the | Johnson collection, she was given ss Coolbrith by Mrs. J. H. Boalt ve vears since, and has from the first nced toward her gentle mistress the | most warm and devoted affection. Calmly digpified in manner, aainty in her ways and discriminating in her friendships—a veritable *lady cat” in every way—Calla ¢ one fauit: she is jealous, and of own son. A caress bestowed upon eauty in ber presence renders wretched. short ev ber | ugh sue is unselfishly willing to share food and cushion with him, she openly resents any special kindness him by ber human frien a “kitten” still, ten his years of existence, is, most half- breed Angoras, extremely | deaf. He is very large, has a| Professor Jordan also makes a specialty of studving, and incidentally petting, these queer little creatures, and many specimens of different varieties partake of his hospitality from time to time. Mayor Phelan says, tersely and decided- ly, that he ‘‘has no pete.” Now an office- holder possessed of any patronaze who hasno ‘‘pets” whatever is certainiy sui generis, but the statement is encouraging, Jse white fur and more than his share | of masculine yanity, since he delights in | presenting himself for inspection when- | ever a stranger is within Miss Coolbrith’s gates, with an air of self-sat- action which is delightfully absurd. 1If expected praise be not forthcoming his expression of chagrin is as unmista le as it is laughable. Miss Coolbrith’s | ly other pet is a canary, remarkable | both for his sweet singing and retentive | memory. Over a year ago his mate died, | and a lady, of whom he had formerly beea very fond, removed her body from the cace and carried itaway. From that time Sweetheart has shown the greatest ani- mosity toward his whilom friend and re- fuses to be placated. Amiability itselt toward all his other acquaintances this pinch of yeliow feathers manifests actual hatred toward this one person. If she speaks to him he replies with shrill cries of rage, and if she aporoaches him he | beats nimself against the wires and pecks | ather in a paroxysm of furious anger. | He ev'dently accused her of having made away with bis companion and has neither | forgiven nor forgotten the fact. | *Buster Dickinson,” a vrize Maltese cat, has the good fortune to belong to Mrs. P. S. Dickinson (Hester A. Benedict), and has | known neithera care nora sorrow during | his twelve years of life. He wears a silver | collar, sits ina high chair st the table en No guests are present, waits for grace | and then eats his food from his special china plate with daintiness and decorum. pitab Some of the best St. Bernard coast have come from the s ken e makes p e of them & as they are in He hates only one person in the world, and that is 8 harmless and necessary den- s | tist who looks after the well-being of his teeth. Buster's favorite seat is on a cor- | ner of his mistress’ writing-desk, when | aged in literary work, and one | 1y pleasures of his happy life is she is en of the n named Doc 11 wa ROBERT TAYLOR’S to one composition, ‘‘Rastus on Parade.” | W heneve: 13 of this one melody | fall tipon his its down and lifting | his muzzle heavenward howls with alt his small might, but no other selection w & responsive chord within his | This fact in his puppy head was ttie means of restoring him to home and friends. Having been lost or stolen he was, after more than a month’s absence, brought 1o his owners for identification, but he had changed so much that they were unable 1o positively claim him. After puzzling | for a time the doctor played several musi- cal fragments upon the piano and then into the air of ‘‘Rastus.” effect was immediate and the identifica- tion made at once absolute, for the puppy began to “sing’ with great vigor and en struck The thusiasm, only desisting when the music changed to a different theme. Irish Duke, R. B. Taylor's fine Irich | water spaniel, is as great a pet at home as | he is an attraction at the bench shows. When given to Mr. Taylor a yeer ago he | was stigmatized as ‘'viciousand danger- | ous,”’ but as his new owner’s family made a friend and companion of him, instead of relesating him to the kennels, they soon won his heart completely. He-is still un- social with stra rs, however, and is almos: insanely jealous of Sancho, his master’s famous marsh dog, who returns the fesling with interest. Sancho is a most gentle and affectionate creature, who | wears his Lorors modesily and makes | jends wherever he goes. The two dogs ely quarrel, but detest each other thoroughly. Peggy, a seven-month-old | ppy of Duke's and an infant prodigy in way, acts as peace-maker, {or, ocddly | ough, they are always civil to each ther in her company, and take a mutual | asure in watching her gambols and | ymitting to her youthful caprices. Mrs. Homer King’s Captain Jinks is a vociferous, vivacious and well nigh ubi- quitous young fox terrier, who has already won local fame by his pleasing personality and many ‘“‘cute’” ways. He liv son terms of warmest friendship with Tiger, Mrs, King's beautiful striped cat. Tiger is a giant among his kind, as he weighs nearly seventeen pounds, and, though bis mis- tress says he “‘is just a plain plebeian cat,” he is certainly one to be proud of. He has a lordly air of owning the entire | establishment, and, though dignifiediy | fond of the whole family, especially dis- | seems to really understand the meaning of | also | vaiuable animals are in this collection to bave her read aloud to him. FAVORITE CANINE. One of the most accomplished parrots in the whole country is the property of | rs. M. J. Scorffy, and owes his education | entirely to her. He was brought from | Panama four years ago, when a mere nestling, and hase from the first shown re- markable aptitude and intellizence. He repeats almost everything he hears, and the many wordsin his vocabulary, as beap- plies them to circumstances and occasions away which is fairly startling to persons accustomed to parrots that speak only by i rote. Desides pussessing all the usual | accomplishments of his kind this wonder- | ul bird spells his own name, “Romeo,” v’ and “dog’ and other simple words, and sets right any one who spells m incorrectly. He knows all bis friends by name and welcomes them cordially when they call upon him, while he receives strangers with dignified While Romeo’s conversational 1 imitative powers are agtually phe- nomenal his musical achievements are almost unbelievable, as he sings the air and words of at least a dozen songs. *Polly Hop ““Ta-ra-ra Boom-de-ay,” “Dry Your Eves,” ““Don’t Cry in Vain,” ““Come Love, Come,” “Little Brown Jug,” “You Snan’t Play in My Yard,” “The Bowery” and *“A Bicycle Built for Two'’ are some of the gemns of his repertoire, and he sings the stanzas without a break in lines or melody,concluding each selection, however, with a triumpnant *‘Hip, hip, hooray for Romeo!” On pleasant day: Romeo zives irom the veranda a fres enter- tainment to admiring audiences. Persons come from all parts of the City to Taylor street and Broadway to listen to him and he is always “ready to oblige.” Romeo's diet is restricted to corn, unleavened bread, sweetened black coffee and plenty of clean gravel. Occasionally he is given anut, a Jumpof sugarand ared pepper pod, but water and Sruit are absolutely in- terdicted. He gets alight shower bath, and has his feet manicured regularly, ana isas happy, good-tempered and healthy as he is intellectual. J. T. Flood’s special pets are monkeys, of which he now has over thirty in an 1deal monkey-house recently built on his beautiful place at Alma. Many rare and an ins,” and they are all on the best of terms with their owner, who finds much amusement in watching their comically solemn ways, California Naturalist at Large Idyls of Forests and Fields—Glorious Jramps in the Hills--Birds Returning to Their Liast Year's Nests % balmy and springlike, the influx 3 of Sunday trampers into the hills has begun. I am sure it is a high human impulse, this one that sends men and women natureward when the growths of field and stream and forest are young and tender. It is a part of that inherent wisdom of the race that warns NAOW that the days are growing MRS. DICKINSON’S PET CAT, “BUSTER.” since it augurs the strictest impartiality in the administration of municipal affairs for the next two years. Fror PERCY MATHESON. T\;\}c; Nominations. The wives of men who have embarked {upon the turbulent waters of public life are like the fishermen’s wives of Nor- wandy, always standing upon the shore with a constant apprehension and fearof a gathering storm, and when the storm comes expectation darkens into anxiety, anxiety into dread, and dread into desp: There was once a little home in my ci around whose humble hearthstone there centered every comfort, joy and happiness | this life can give. The breadwinner of this sacred circle was a man whose genial, generous and gentle nature brought sunshine to his fire- | side and a coveted companionship to his friends. MRS. HOMER KING’ He was a magnificent specimen of young manhood, and as the tender vine will en- twine itself around the branches of a | sturdy oak, so did theaffections of his little wife cling around his reart, and the | flowers that blossomed from their love were two little buds of humanity, a girl and a boy. The slightest cloud had never shown itself above the horizon of their happi- ness, uutil one day it came in the shape of a political nomination for office. The first venture was a success, so far as the achievement of a victory went, but s0 far as it concerned the peace and com- fort of that little home, and its contents, it was a failure from the first. Uncertain coming took the place of punc- tuality, irregular habits interfered with home enjoyment and discipline, unreason- able demsnds by unreasonable people at unreasonable hours turned the tide at the front door from social intercourse to selfish intercession. With peace disturbed, pri- vacy denied, comforts sacrificed and inde- pendence crushed, is it any wonder that this poor, once happy wife and mother should realize the first stage of her sorrow —expectation darkening into anxiety. It was but little further before these con- B e INA COOLBRI TH’S ANGORA CAT, | stant calls upon ber tolerance, together | with another term of office to seek, turned | anxiety into dread. And when, as a cli- | max, defeat came, followed by debt and | loss of home, sorrow had filled the cup toiits | | brim, and the last stage was reached, when | dread darkened into desparr—and such | \e magnificent specimen of man- | now keeping a saloon, and his wife | | and children living a life without happi- | ness or hope. | PART IL Life's compensation, after all, estab- lishes an average that is fair. The doleful story just related is offset by anotber one, for on the opposite side of the street is the S “CAPTAIN JINKS.” | has given him respectability, wealth and renown. On his way up he met the other going | down, both on the same path, but going in | different directions: one to fame and for- tune, the other toinfamy and misfortune. Where politics elevated the one it ruined | the other; to one it brought sovriety, to the other intemperance; to the one it in- spired an ambition to a higher life, the other it dragged down to a lower; to one political life meanta healthier growth, to the other it was poisonous; to one a bless- ing, to the other a curse. What to the wife and children of one was a shipwreck at sea, to the wife and children of the other was a voyage of profit to a new and bounteous clime. Thus in politics as in everything else in this life do we find com- pensations well averaged. Jupsox BRUSIE. e A Russian physician asserts that the pain of neuralgia, if superficial, can be re- lieved at once by throwing a beam of light from a bright arc light upon the affected part. | — Russia is stated to make the best isin- glass. Itisobtained from the giant stur- geon, which inbabits the Caspian Sea. MRS. us to lift up our eyes to the hills. A good part of our human strength comes thence. A good part of human life lies there. If it be not true that the same life that is in us is also, in kind, throughout all nature, then I see no reason why human beings should take any interest in nature or feel any sympathy with her processes. The ancient wise one is, indeed, for our use, for our help ana upbuilding, only it behooves us humans to learn, ere we visit | her, the difference between use and appro- | priation. The things of nature are not | ours. They are only for us. That which | we can use we may take, freely, but | nature’s anathema is upon those imper- | fectly humanized beings who cannot use, home of a man who | started life where the other ended, in a saloon, and yet to-day stands respected, honored, reve-ed in his community and among his fellow-men. ! | From a wretched doggery on the water | | front, he has persevered, worksd, studied | and employed politics to the end which anxiety. The building of a nest is under- taken in questioning and with grave con- sideration. The location must be sheltered from rude winds tbat might tear it down or toss the nest’s infant occupants out. The wee cradle must be hidden from the sharp eyes of climbing snakes. It must be sheltered from the depredations of the chattering, egz-loving squirrels and the attacks of feathered cannibals, and to our shame, be 1t said, it must be placed safely out of reach of human beings, who, en- dowed beyond all other created things with the power to appreciate and enjoy all for which the birds stand, are the most dangerous foes the little creatures | kaow. It isone of the rarest occurrences in nature when a bird dies a natural death, yet they perish annually by hun- dreds of thousands. To take a last year’s bird’s nest for pur- poses of study is not an unpardonable thing, provided you are sure the nest is not one of birds whose habit it is to re- turn each year to their old home. There are birds who do this season aiter season, and whether one has any more right to such a nest than he bas to the dwelling of his next-door neighbors, who have taken a winter's flitting, is & question each must settle for himself. More birds return to their last season’s nests than we have any idea of. Iknow a great tree beside g jolly little stream that bears on one down-drooping branch an oriole’s nest that has been occupied for three seasons by what appear to be the same two birds. There is something im- pressive in the thought of the toyal little pair who traverse the trackless sky path year after vear from their winter haunts to seek this low-swung home, rear their young brood and disappear again for an- otner season. The nest, too, is a wender- ful sort of thing. I have studied it again and again, lying on the bank with my field glass leveled at it. The canny build- ers have wound a long cord deftly about several small drooping branches, so as to form a sort of rough basket, and in and out of the meshes thus formed they have woven horsehair, cotton and feathers un- til the whole forms a strong, light, weli- ventilated swinging cradle, where a fairy child might rock and slumber in perfect security. One of the nests I found by the wayside is that of the brown towhee, one of our commonest California birds. The towhee stays with us the year through and is gen- erally called the ground robin. He is a plain, brown, monkish-looking bird with a touch of pale red on breast and belly. You catch a glimpse of this as he flits his long, restless tail and it serves to identify the bird. Heis not gifted in song, but when excited or angry gives vent to a sharp, cat-like cry that has won for him the name of ‘‘the Western catbird.” He | can sing, however, when he is in love and on wooing bent. All birds sing then, and he may also be heard just before a rain- storm warbling very softly among the bushes. Plain though his coat, the to- whee is a sleek, neat littie feillow, with a particularly clever-looking, pretty head. | the grass. One of the most winsome birds of our study during his days of bachelor wait- ing. If none of these avail be will sit half an hour at the time a disconsolate, hud- dled little bunch, patheticaliy posed in plain sight of the scornful fair one, con- sidering what his next move shall be. Then, as if pulling himself together with a warning injunction against faint- heartedness, he will begin all over and go through his little programme with re- newed vivacity and tenderness. If, how- ever, his wooing is in vain and the cap- tious little hen goes off, as she sometimes will, with a final rejecting flirt of the tail, it has never seemed to me that the feath- ered wooer took his defeat very seriously to heart. Birdsare by nature philosophers, apparently, and too thoroughly settled 1n the order of their lives not to be easily consoled. There is a great satisfaction in knowing the identity of the birds one meets during a day’s ramble; 1n calling by name the blossoms that greet one in field and can- yon, or in recognizing the little creeping things that quick eyes see on every side. Any one who raises his eyes in the woods from the barrels of his gun may see the down - drooping redwoods and know they are not oaks, or detect the diffarence between the twisted manzanita and little robin-run-the-hedge, with 1ts clinging tendrils, but if this is the extent of his woodcraft he is poor indeed. To see the first small swelling of bare brown stems, before the leafbuds break the bark; to note, with no pang of regret, the swift Ieaps of the fleeing rabbit across the open; 10 name the birds, without a gun, and to find excuse for loitering beneath every tree, beside every moss-grown rock, are the real delights of seeing nature in her haunts. I came recently with a party of tramp- ersto an open space among the chaparral on the crest of a chain of foothills. The leader of the party motioned silence and stood spelibound with parted lips and smiling, delighted eyes, gazing at a flock of quail quietly making their way througn There must have been forty of the alert, beautiful birds, plump and shin- ing, with glossy feathers stirring in the breeze and crested heads proudly, fear- lessly held high. “Did you ever see anything so beauti- ful?” whispered their discoverer. But the mrod of the party wiung his gunless hands and groaned: “What a shot! oh, what a shot ! Itell you the first man went down to his house justified, rather than the other. Washington’s We&ding Day. When the heart of & natton is torn and riven, When the prayers of a people in one stream roll, Out from the silence an answer is given— Then cometh the Leader, the masteriul soul. Let the faith of the world like a star be steady; Let no man question God’s might and power; For heroes arise when their work is ready, And patriots come at the needed hour. So Washington came. While a king derided, And wise men sueered, and the old world laughed, He stood at the helm and safely guided who can only appropriate and vandalize that which they cannot understand, to which their finer perception is blind and desf and, having nothing to express, | dumb. Something of this sort passed through my mind as, climbing the mountain in the wake of a party of trampers—young 1aen and maidens—I came upon not one or two but five demolished birds’ nests, wantonly torn from their anchorage and left by the pathway. Fortunately, they were all last year’s nests, though I ques- tion if the human depredators knew it, and I knew that no one of the wrecks represented some feathered Rachel mourn- ing, comfortless; but none the less I felt indignant at the unnecessary vandalism. It would bs a comparatively easy mat- ter to depopulate our woods of their feathered denizens. The birds are the most intelligent of all the woodland creatures, not because of tineir naturally greater brain endowment, but because there are no other creatures subject to so many dangers, and the constant presence of peril has made them wary and clever. These bappy, singing, winged morsels of feathers and flesh lead lives of ceaseless £ SCOOFFY’S PARROT. DR. REGENSBURGER’S PETS. winter season is the little Oregon junco, who corresponds to the snowbird of the North and the East. With the exception of the titmouse I know no bird, not even the fearless little goldfincn, who is so frank and friendly. I have had one actu- ally pick up seeds from between my feet as I sat upon the ground, thrilling all through with delight at the near approach of the trusting morsel in feathers. They are very pretty birds, with shining black heads and necks, backs of olivaceous brown, and ashy breasts, just shading to pink along the sides, The two outer feathers each side of the- tail are white | and show conspicuously as the bird flies, making a capital - identification mark. They have, also, stout, knowing-looking little yellow bills. The junco does not nest with us, but leaves late in February for the colder mountain regions. I saw a group of them on a bare swamp- willow the other day, going through a se- ries of maneuvers that would have done credit to a militia ccmpany. First the whole corps, a score or more, after what seemed like a game of follow-the-leader, lined up on one branch of the willow, while on atwig before them perched a single bird, evidently a full-grown male, for he was larger than the others, and moredistinotly plumaged. There was a great preening of feathers, a stretching of wings and a Tubbing of breasts and then, presto, as if at some preconcerted signal, every bird suddenly left the perch, wheeled into line and the entire company flew in a perfect inverted V across the field. There wasnot a single straggler. They rose in air as one bird and formed without an instant’s hesitation. Appar- ently they were practicing for longer flight. The joyous little goldfinch, called here- abouts the California canary, is already with us. At least the male birds are here. although they have not yet got their new spring suits. They will have them, how- ever, before the ladies arrive, and then will begin one of the sweetest of the re- curring idyls of springtime. The wild canary is a fascinating little lover. so ar- dent, so tender, so eager to win his lady’s smiles, which she, cunning one, appa- rently bestows not lightly. He must sing to her long and sweetly his wild, charm- ing, canary-like song. He mustinvite ber consideration of eligible nesting sites, of which he has probably been making a Through blood-red billows falr freedom’s crait. Oh, frail was the bark, and the wild waves bruised her; The mad sen lashed her in cruel sport; But strong was the heart and the hand that cruised her Past rocky reefs to the peaceful port. The world hears much of the warlike doings Of famous heroes on fields of strife, But why not sing of their lovings and wop- ings Since love is the mightiest force in life? The day of his birth no man remembers; Toe day of his death no man can say; But the heart of & man shall burn to embers Before he forgets his wedding day. He who is boldest where cannons thunder Is soonest to soften at woman's charms, And the tenderest hearts hide ofttimes nnder The brawny bosom that carry arms. And he who held as a priceless treasurs The freedom wrenched from a tyrant’s hand We find was slave of a woman’s pleasure And wearing her feiters at love's command. We need but look and we see them standing Like a picture flung out by the vitascope. The queenly bride, and the groom command- ing, Both with the dower of youth and hope. My lady is gowned in stately fashion; My lord has buckles at toe and knee; Their hearts are warm with the fire of pas- sion, As the hearts of & bride and groom should be. The vows are given, the service is over; There’s the clank of & sword as itswings aside, While the powdereé head of ths courtly lover Bends low and he kisses his new-made bride. Ah! long ago was that famous marriage, Yet we see the groom in his coat of blue, As he moves away with a soldierly cerriage, And we catch a glimpse of my lady’s shoe. Like the last grand note of a song that is ended, Is & gifted man. As the record runs, The race of our hero has not descended— Great souls give deeds to the world, not sons. He stands for himself. Or father or mother Or son or daughter or pedigree, What were they all? It is he, no other, Washington, Washington, whom we see. Yes, one other; we see bsside him The love-crowned queen of his manly heart, She who ever conld lead and guide him With & woman's tact and with Cupid’s art. The one sweet clause in life’s sad story Islove. Ah,my lord, and my lady, I know You found it betier than all your glory— Could you speak through space, you wouid tell me so! ELLA WHEELER WILCOX.