The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, January 31, 1897, Page 23

e THE SAN FRANCISCO CALL, SUNDAY, JANUARY 31 1897. (&) &) DOG THAT SAVED TWO HOMES FROM THE FLAMES. THIS DOE PUTS OUT FIRES. . Gocker Spaniel Which Has Saved Two Homes by the Most Novel Methods. EVEN ENTERS OBJECTION TO MEN SMOKING CIGARS He Is Not a Fireman Add His Accomplishment to Money Gannot Buy HE only doz in this coun makes a practice of putting o own H. H. Buras of Mich. The animal is & pretty cocker spaniel, Baby by name, and not only does he put that | fires Tra- y advantage. cannot buy this little dog from | On two occasions he aid the | a paid fire department, home from the results of a disase | , and on another occasion he | > ‘service for a neighoor whose | y was in ‘ Oaly for f the dog the house | | however, which | ¢ the pride and admiration y re city of Traverse is the man- which he puts out fires. Firein pe is soimething which he does not | , and even as a puppy he showed | fie most pronounced dislike for it. The | 1z of & match anywhere near him | and | a sure signal for a series of grow rous attempts on his part to reach the | ling flame and putting it out by hit- with his paw. | peculiar trait was encouraged in | and be soon became to ‘feel that | s duty to put out every fire he | ever, he seemed to know, in- | v, that o fire in a stove or grate | dog . Burns and his fa; 0 away from home for Baby in charge of the honse. | n acted in the capacity of | eper before and everybody felt | verfectly safe in leaving him on the watch. | Just what happened during the family’s | absence is not known, but a passing neigh- | bor saw smoke coming out of an upper window of the house and heard furious | barking from the inside. ‘ Forcing an entrance the neighbor found ! the house filled with smoke and Baby | rolling about on tne floor in the act of ex- | tinguishing the last flame of what had | ently been a good-sized blaze. ! Fhere was a big hole burnt in the car- | pet where a coal had evidently snapped | out of the grate and started the fire, and a | goodly portion of Baby’slong silken hair | was singed. The dog, however, did not appear to mind that, for, when the lust hit of flame was extinguished, he jumped | up and showed every evidence of being well satistied with himself and his work. | Baby's other experience as & local fire | rtment was in the house of a neigh- | bor whom Mrs. Burns was visiting. The | dog was with ber and, for & few moments, | was left alone in aroom in which there open grate fire. ention of the occupants was at- | to the room in which the dog had | left by hearing him growling and | the furniture zbout. On enter- | ing the room Baby was found with & small rog in bis mouth drawine it back | and forth over a small portion of the car- | pet which had been set on fire probably by a live coal. For these two acts of unusnal intelli- gence Baby is the pride of everybody in Traverse and should anything unfortunate | happen fo him the entire community would feel it Was a personal loss. On another occasion Baby put out a small blaze in an entirely different man- A gentleman was sitting in a store ar the dog’s home holding a lighted cigar in his hand. Baby went into the store, and, catching sight of the lighted cigar, ne stole quietly up behind the gen- tleman, and with & quick stroke of his paw sent the cigar flying across the room, | he proceeded to extinguish it by | tedly striking it"with his paw. rance Baby is an unusually He bas long, silky, black thet sparkle with intelli. e until he looks as if he could speak if would. 1 the very first day that Baby—then ball of wavy biack hair—became a er of the Burns household he | ed evidence of unusual intelligence w1l ability to learn. As he grew older skl tricks as sitting up and begging for sffcis, playing aead, sneezing and bring- ink Lis master's slinpers scemed a part of his natural instinet; but in addition to these ordinary tricks Baby acquired of his own accord a number of tricks in which he seemed to tuke delight, especially when he got an opportunity of showing them t0 an admiring crowd. n mer sho | whenever the hose is attached and the | dog invariably startsa most terrific dis- sprinkler no one has ever been able to dis- y House Dog Should That of Gatching Burglars. This Rare Ganine. \'s Pet—Eve inherent dislike of a lawn sprinkler, and water turned over his master’slawn the turbance, and will attack the innocent hose in a most energetic manner, evi- dently laboring under the impression that biting and shaking the hose will stop the | flow of water. Just why he bas this firm and deep- rooted dislike for an unoffending iawn cover, but it is something which he evi- dently canpot overcome. His various and exciting experiences | e not cowed him in the least, and he | st as ready as over to fight another fire | or hose, and it has recentiy been suggested that he be made an honorary member of toe Traverse Fire Department. Where Honors Gome High. | Our Embassador to London receives the largest salary paid to American Embassa- dors—$17,500—the same amount only being | paid to the Embassadors to France, Ger- | many, Russia and Mexico, says the Phila- | delphia Ledger. Sir Julian Pauncefote, the representative of the British Govern- ment in Washington, which is considered a smaller diplomatic post, of course, than that at Parjs, Berlin or St. Petersburg, and, of course, carries smaller emolu- ments and perquisites, receives $32,000 and the house and grounds, which are owned by the British Government. Besides this there are other perquisites allowed for horses and servants, all of the latter being Erglishmen, and most of them having lived in Washington through the adminis- trations of several Ministers and Embassa- dors. The American Embassador livesin a house which he rents furnished. 'This has a disadvantage in the facc that for sagial purposes every four years m akes a change the American Embassy and suggests, per- haps, to the average Englishman the idea that the American Embassy is not a per- manent institution. However this may be, the American Embassador does not dare to purchase a house for the use of an embassy and residence combi ned, for fear —acontingency most likely—that his suc- cessor would not be willing, or could not afford, even if he wished, to take it off his hands at the end of the administration. Congress, however, is not sensitive to ap- pearances. The Jeffersoman simplicity which characterizes its deliberations is felt in this way throughout the worla. In France the situation 1s the same. Several men, because of the lack of for- tunes of their own, have declined the honor of serving as Embassadors to Paris, because they knew that if they did they would return at the expiration of their terms bankrupt. In London the diffical- ties are perhaps greater than in Paris. If the American Embasszador has a large family and the women go outinto society, each reception is most expensive to the Embassador. If the Queen holds a draw- ing-room, or the Prince of Wales a levee, all of the members of the diplomatic corps are invited and arb supposed to be present. So great is the necessity for preserving the entente cordiale that all of our representatives to foreign countries are instructed by the Secretary of State, as far as may be con- sistent with their other duties and their time, to use all tact and discretion in pre- serving personal friendly relations with officers of the Government. Th erefore, it is a rare occasion when certain represen- tatives of the American United States Embassy do not appear at these drawing- rooms or levees. If the Embassacor has a large family and several daughters to be presented at court, the gowns mecessary for the occasion, which all must be of a prescribed fashion, with a long train and veil. cost in themselves a small fortune. In addition to this the wife of the Em- bassador is supposed not to appear twice t a drawing-room in the same court gown. Then there_ are little dinners and big dinners, small receptions and crushes to be given, in the thought of the pay- ment for which there should be no m iserly scraples, such as cannot but be fosiered by the poiicy of this Government. And not only is the Embassador and his fam- ily affected by the mecessities of the situ- ation, but all of the attaches and their Iamilies, if they have them, suffer as well, As a matter of fact only men of means can for & moment consider the offer of a diplo- matic post at any of the great European capitals. Some of them are taken by men of means with social aspirations, and, as men of means are not necessarily men versed in the intricacies of international 0O BATTLE with a huge mountain lion seven feet in length and 253 4 pounds in weight on a trestle at night is the thrilling experience that has just befallen Edward C. Depew, an engi- neer on the Great Northern Railroad. It all occurred near Loewell, Wash. The fierce beast leaped at the engine and narrowly escaped crashing through the window of the cab. Altogether the episode was one of the most exciting that & railroad man has ever experienced. A Cawn correspondent, acting on in- structions, finally prevailed upon Engineer Depew to write an account of his adven- ture, believing that additional imterest would be lent by the fact of the story com- ing from his'own pen. Mr. Depew’s statement is as follows: “I was the engineer 1n charge of engine 219 of the Great Northern, which was at- tacked by a monster cougar or mountain lion. You can have little idea of the hor- ror of the experience. The glistening of the beast’s eyes, as it lay crouched on the rails all prepared to make its powerful spring, was awful to tehold. 1 irankly confess that I was so frightened that my hair seemed to stand on end. 1 would have shouted, I am sure, if I had not been too territied to do so. “At the time of the adventure I was pull- ing the overland yvassenger train going East, and as we were a few minutes late we were trying to make up a little time. After we had left Lowell and almost two miles east of there, about half way across a long trestle, my fireman, George Law- rence, jumped down off his box seat and came quickly to my side of the engine. I noticed a startied look on” his face, and turned quickly, asking what was the mat- ter. The intensity of the situation can be understood only by & man who has traveled on an engine dashingat a high rate of speed through the darkness, with only confidence to keep his mind at ease. I knew that something was wrong, and it seems as if in that ona short minute a million thoughts flashed through my mind. Again I asked Lawrence what was the matter, but he did not speak. His eyes seemed fixed. All he could do was to glare through the window of the cab and point ahead. “A cold perspiration broke out on my brow. I looked ahead and saw, through the darkness, some black looking object on the track. My first thought was of some obstruction on the track. Fora sec- ond the thought of jumping flashed through my mind, but I banished it. ““This takes quite a while to tell, but it couid only have been a few seconds at. the in which i¢ all happened. ““As soon as I saw the obstruction on ‘the track, I felt that a possible accident was at hand. Nothing could be done. We were too close to the dangar, and the fright had the same effect on me that it had on Lawrence. It took away my power of speech. Instinctively I crawled out of the cab on to the side of the engine. “The train dashed on, and an instant after I had discerned the form I saw the monster’s eyes flashing through the dark- ness, green and yellow by turns. Law-| rence was still in the cab, speechiess, with | fixed eyes, and finger outstretched toward | the animal. His expression was frightful | to look upon. The whole scene was so horrifying that it was photographed on my brain 8o clearly as to make me able to describe every detail that occurred in those few short seconds. “As the train approached the lion I could see it prepare to spring, and finally when the leap was made the situation was so dramatic as to be almost theatrical in effect. The headlight of the engine threw its rays on the crouching animal, and when it plunged into the flood of light it looked as if its mission of death would surely be successful. “The force of the jump was astonishing, and as the body of the beast crashed into the edge of the engine-front the sound echoed through the silence azain and again, To jump then was certain death, for we were rizht in the center of the tres- tle, and yet, as the lion made its leap, I could aimost feel its hot breath on my throat. . “When the engine crashed into the beast, orit crashed 1nto the engine, whichever way you wish to put it, the lion fell baek on to the trestle, writhing as if in fright- ful agony, and then for the first time 1| realized that the danger was over. after we struck 1t, lodged in the cross-ties | of the trestle. It wus found there by the | train crew of engine 498, who picked it up | and brought it to 8 omish. There it | was skinned. The claws were taken by some of the other firemen and engineers, who had watch charms made of them, which are very attractive and look some- what like the emplems worn by Knights | Templar. “The beast was still alive wher the men A BIG MOUNTAIN LION ATTACKS A TRAIN. Springs at Engineer Edward C.Depew of the Great Northern While | Grossing a High Jrestle- and Makes Battle in Mid Air. ONE OF THE MOST THRILLING EPISODES EVER EXPERIENCED ON THE RAIL. The Fierce Beast Leaped at the Engine and Narrowly Escaped Grashing Through the Gab Window. TJhe Horrifying Scene Vividly Described by the Brave Man Who Passed Through the Terrible Night Ordeal. public appearances were carefully studied and whether he was crowning himself in Notre Dame, visiting the camp-fires of his army, presenting eagles to his regiments or receiving his Ministers, he took the ut- most trouble to impress his audiences by means of the actor's artifices. His glances, his gestures, his frowns and his smiles were all calculated. Nor was his acting confined to popular occasions. He would, if need be, act to a house of three or four diplomatists, or to asingle king or statesman, as readily as to a crowd. He made little or no secret of the practice. For example, aiter an appa- rent outburst of rage he turned round to one of his people, oneof those whom it was not necessary to impress, and who was in the position of a dresser or scene- shifter, and explained that his fury was not real, and that, in fact, it never reached beyond his neck—never got to his brain. Perhaps, however, the best example of his admissions in this respect is to be found in his interview with the Pope at Fon- tainebleau : *Napoleon met an obstinate opponent to some of his pretensions in Pope Pius Vil. The Emoeror, accordingly, had the Pontiff brought from Rome to Fontaine- bleau, and in the chateau at that place oc- cured the inferview vivified by the poetic art of Alired de Vigny. We are told that “I learned afterward that the cougar, | during that historic meeting Napoleon raged and stormed as he paced the polished floor, while Pius VII sat in a large, cagle- studded chair, attentive and calm. Na- poleon made promises, threats and boasts. Pius VII simply answered with one word, ‘Commediante!' Napoleon overheard the word and was furious. ‘Comedian! I a comedian !’ hg exclaimed. ‘Ah, I will give you comedies such as will make you all cry like women and children! Comedian! Ab, you are mistaken if you think to get of No. 498 discovered 1t, but its hind legs were cut off, and when the men got down until it was known to be dead. In fact, | Foreman John C. Wright would not go | chambers of his revolver into it. Then | | they fastened it to the cowcatcher and | took 1t to Skykomish. “This is the whole story, and I can as- another such experience.” manhood, end his statement that he felt | frightened is not looked upon in Lowell, where he is known, as an expression of cowardice. Depew is 5 feet G inches in height, weighing 140 pounds, and is well known as the champion of the oppressed for his action. His record as an engineer a more than ordinarily I ve man. An Imperial Actor. An entertaining article in the London Spectator is & review of the book entitlea “Napoleon’s Opera-glass: an Historic Study.” 1n the course of the article the reviewer says of Napoleon: *'All his great to investigate they kept at a safe distance | of manager and author. near it until he nad emptied a couple of | fear! sure you I do not want to pass through | language Engineer Depew is a fine specimen of | and continued or weuker side in any dispute® that calls | their notions, has on many occasions shown' him to be | the better of me by insolent coolness! My theater is the world | The part I play is that As comedidns I engage all of you—pores, kings, neoples! The thread by whic: I move you is— Comedian! Ah, it would take a better man than you are to dare to ap- | vland or to hiss me? Pius VII moved | uneasily in the chair for a moment, and then he checked the soldier’s torrent of with another word— Napoleon sobered in am instant in more subdned tones: ©'Tis very true, Tragedian or comedian! All is acting—all has been costumed w: me for along time, and wiil be so for ever! What fatigne! What littleness! Bitting, always sitting, in full face for this party, in profile for that, according to * ®* * You see I am open-hearted with you. I have plans for the lives of forty emperors. I form one every morning and another every night. Life is too short to stand still.”” ————————— An Austrian.inventor has lately patent- ed'a cheap and simple means of making paper and cardboard from wood pulp. It is absolutely impervious to moisture, is extremely tough and has the appearance of leather. ante!’ N i o, /’/llll /; AR = LK A sense of the term, the policy cannot be For some unknown reason Baby has an 1aw or always diplomats in the Europnn] considered a wise one. | be caught. ENGINEER LITTLE AND‘ HIS TRAVELING CAT. TRAVELING A MILLION MILES The Pet Cat of the Steamer Alameda Has Already Govered 675,000 of Them by Sea. ! TOM WILL GET A COLLAR. OF €OLD AT THE FINISH ’ Rolling Up Miles at the Present Moment—The First Feline to Make a Long-Distanca Reeord, and He Will Get There Barring Death 2 make & unique record. To cover one million miles is the goal of its ambition and that of its owner, Chief Engineer A. D. Little of the steamer Ala- meda of the Oceanic line. It is the most widely traveled cat in the world. Up to the present time Tom has covered a distance of 675,000 miles during his wanderings, and both he and his mas- ter are living in the hope that he will be able to reach the million mark. Inci- dentally, Tom has had many strange ex- periences. He has been battered about and laid on the sick list more than once, but never has this prevented him from continuing his travels. Tom has done most of his journeyings on the Alameda, on board which Mr. Little has sailed as chief engineer for over thirteen years. The Alameda plies be- tween San Francisco, ~Hawaii, New Zealand and Australia, and at every port | where the vessel touches Tom is as well known as the oldest salt in the service. There are dozens of persons. interested in him, and many of them keep a record of Ihe miles he' travels, adding to the score #henever the famous old feline reaches port. On the water front at San Fran- cisco Tom iz as well known—in fact, better than the oldest policeraan%or the beat, and surely twice as well liked, and at Honolulu, Apia, Auckland and Sydney he is the first favorite with all who fre- quent the docks. There will certainly be general lamentation it Tom is not spared to make his record of a million miles, but the chances are that he will, for at present the old cat is as healthy as he ever was. 1t was not until Tom had been at sea for ten years that Mr. Little began to figure up the number of miles he had cov- ered, but since. that time he haskept a careful record, and at the close of the last voyage, when it was discovered that Tom had covered & distance of 675,000 miles, there was general feasting among the crew. At present the feline globe-trotter is forging his way over the ocean, adding more miles to his record, and, when he Jeft San Francisco, he looked as strong as if he were in his prime, and so the race between time and death goes on, with time having the best of it up to now. Tom originally belonged to the crew cof the bark Alden Besse. Hewas then quite a kitten, . This was about thirteen years ago. ‘One day he crawled up the gangway of the Alameda and started to run round the deck as if he were anxious to -start a record for traveling. < Several of the sail- ors tried to catch him, but Tom would not He secreted himself in vari- ous parts of the ship until she went to ses, and from that day to this he has been on board the Alameds. As he grow older Tom began to settle down to business, and it was not long be- fore the upper part of the ship and the 'tween decks were perfectly clear of rats. It was this quality that brought him so much good luck and also & great deal of comfort. From the moment that Tom boarded the Alameda he kept to himseif. No amount of coaxing could make him friendly. He would not allow ‘dny one to pick him up, and if any of the sailor tried to stroke; him he would dash off and disappear for a couple of days. Then he would renew his crusade on the rats. This was the case on the first voyage that Tom took. One day he was hunting the vermin and happened to chase a monster rat into the gailey. In his anxiety to catch his foe Tom jumped on to the stove. His feet were badly burned, and with a howl of pain ha rushed out of the galley and stowed himself away in the ’tween docks. Engineer Little, who has always been very fond of Tom, started for him, groping among the cargo for several hours, at last finding bim writhing in .| pain hetween two barrels. Little picked' up the cat and took him to bis room, dressing his feet with vaseline every day until they were cured, and from that time Tom has 'been friendly to the. chief en- gineer. There are now three. cats on board the Alameda, but of course they are not suck old voyagers as Tom and he seems to know it, for under no cifcum- stances will he aliow oue of the “green hands” to walk on the poop. Perhaps when they too have traveled 675,000 miles things will be different, but now fom is very strong. ‘Thirteen years of goud food and sea air have told their tale making him one of the healthiest feline specimens that ever went to sea. Of late years Tom has acted as sentinel at the door of Engineer Little's state- room, but there is something paradoxical ERE is a cat that is striving to | or Shipwreck. abeut his methods. He will kill every rat that dares to make an appearance, but if he ends the life of one anywhere else on the ship the first thing he does is to de- posit the carcass at Mr. Little’s door. But Tis wonderful traveling cat is saga- cious ifl other ways. He knows the sound of a flying-fish, and never one falls on the deck that dbes not find its way to the chief engineer’s door. Flying-fish are comsidered quite a delicacy at sea, but Tom is always rewarded for Jris faithful- ness by being allowed to eat his captive. The only annoying part about this pecu- liarity of Tom’s is that he will often crawl on to Mr. Little’s bed and awaken him if he hasa victim’s body to display. Bat his master never chides him for this, and so the old cat remains happy, at least in this regard. Tom has never missed a sailing day. He is too anxious to travel. In hisyouuger days he used to go ashore a great deal and sometimes he stayed away for a day or two at a time, but he always showed up at muster on sailing day. Mr. Litte has al- ways been at a loss to know how the cat seemed to realize that the ship was about 10 sail, but the fact remains that he did 50, and does so still. At present Tom is traveling with one ear and a half. This condition was brought about by an encounter with a cat in Sydfiey in which although Tom came out abead he did not do so without receiv- ing several reminders of the affray. When Tom had finished his 600,000 miles of travel, his American admirers in San Francisco presented him with a silver collar marked with the ‘inscription *0d Tom, Steamship Alameda. Presented by his American Admirers July 4, 1896.” There was considerabie fun at the presen- tation.. A delegation waited on Mr. Lit- tle and explained to him their mission. Tom was escorted to tbe ship’s saloon and seated on a table by his master's side. Many of the ship’s company were present, and when the speech-makingz began they were all as interested as if they were listen- ing to anyoration over the bodv of some fallen hero. Toin’s history was rehearsed and due tribute paid to his superiority as a traveler. Then the collar was presented. Mr. Little in replying explained how honored Tom felt at the distinction, and expressed the hope that they would all meet again after he had finished his million miles, for which sentiment there were loud cheers. Then the clief engineer explained that if it was not for the fact that all present were known to be true friends of Tom, he would feel, to some extent, that an insult had been offered in the gift, inasmuch as Tom was well known to be a gold cat. However, he continued, Tom would wear his silvér collar on all state occasions, though it must not be expected that he would change his political views. After the ceremony was over a light lancheon was served, in wkich Tom joined, and after his heaith had been drunk sevegal times, the party disbanded. But it was a proud day for Engineer Little, who thigks as much of his pet as he does of anything in the world. Tom’s friends in Sydney have asked the privilege of presentin:_him with a gold collar when he has finished his miliion miles, and it 1s expected that there will be great rejoicing when the event comes off. A Mystery of Arithmetic. It was interesting to read about the gentleman who, at a Sunday-school mect- ing last Sunday, told the children that in the thirty-three years during which he had abstained from tobacco, he had saved by the means $885261. It would also be interesting to know whether any bright boy in the room asked him if he bad all that money in the bank. Itisone of the curivus things about economies of that sort that they never seém to make any difference with one’s budgzet at the end of the year. Theoretically, aritbmeticaily, they must, of course, but practieally they don’t. What iots of thrifty, Saving, get- ahead feliows there are who smoke, and what lots of total gbstainers from twobacco who can’t lay up a cent to save their lives! Tt really seems as if the matter of saving money were presided over by nnseen imps, who spirit away dimes and dollars from some people by night and put them in the pockets of other people. Cash ac- counts don’t altogether explain the mys- tery. A man who doesn’t use tobacco may often wonder whete ne would get the money to buy it if he did use it; but if he did use it, probably his accoudts would somehow come o the same thing.—Boston Transcript. >