OCR Text |
Show THE ARGUS. Among other eccentricities of genius possessed by Tom in the vocal line are a few that show FRITZ AND TOM RIEPEN. yesterday that Tom Rie-pewas bom. His birthplace was as humble as any manger it was in a champagne box, with excelsior lining in the cellar of the old Louvre, on Commercial street. The proverbial nine lives of the average cat have been frequently proven, but with Torn Riepen his one, single, unjeopardized existence has been as serene and secure from danger under the watchful care of his master, Fritz Riepen, as was ever vouchsafed to the most famous pet known to man or snobbish aristocracy. The average cat, proverbial with the feline race, is the most distant and unsociable of all domesticated animals. Even the old maid accepts too tabby of the much familiarity with no uncertain protest. Centuries of time have not eliminated the wild blood of the cat ; they are natural nomads, and still hunters for prey prefer seclusion as paunch, they next prefer a until, with snug nap on a soft rug or a doze beneath the warmth of the kitchen stove. n well-line- d was famous as Tom Riepen a kitten, and early in that part of his Mi Kittenhood. career he showed a strange and interesting dis- position contrary to his race. He was a Napoleon in his stubborness and determination. He was not playful, and yet he never sulked or kindly-na-ture- d enough if allowed to have his way. In many things he was more like a trained dog than a cat. He knew every old patron of the Louvre, and would smell at the heels of all he knew, and those who treated him best he would scamper up their clothes to their shoulders and there perch and purr until told to get off, and then, with perfect indifference, do as bid and await the next friend to enter. One day while Fritz was whistling his favorite' Wacht um Rhine, during a Ml in trade, he thought he noticed a singing hum of accompaniment. When he ceased the other sound ceased, and when he would resume the tuneful strains of his faderland aeolian chords seemed He was ito strum along with perfect harmony. puzzled. He knew no one was in the room, and o voices were near, and the kitten seemed to sit and gaze at him with nonchalance. He tried jauother tune, but no sounds were heard but those Der Wacht um from his own lips. Again Rhein was whistled softly, and Fritz made his it was Tom When Fritz is not busy with his thirsty army he will then, at least once a day, put Tom through his calisthenics. This is a sight that few would believe in recital, and it has to be seen to be fully appreciated. When it is understood that Tom is about twice the size of the average house cat, and weighs more in proportion on account of being excessively fat, his agility is simply phenomenal. Fritz will first suspend a rubber ball on a string from the ceiling, and as Tom watches the accustomed operation be will retire to a corner of the room or under a tier of elevated barrels. The ball is left about fourteen inches from the floor and then Fritz will call Time! Slowly, crouchingly and stealthily Tom will come from whence called and approach the ball. Nearing it he will diverge his course and walk around it, his head low, eyeing it from a distance of a foot or so as it slowly vibrates on its pendulum, his green-reeyes glaring like a cougar about to pounce upon its prey. After making about two circles of the ball Fritz will say Get to work ! and then Tom halts, sits back a little on his haunches, gives a low growl, a hissing spit, and leaps for the ball. Between both front paws he grabs it, growling while he holds it firmly ; then pulling down firmly lets go and the ball goes up slightly with the tension of the string, and bobs up and down for a second, when Tom, standing up on his haunches or feet, as the case of distance may be, gives one of the prettiest sparring exhibitions ever witnessed . He never misses each return of the ball, and he changes positions even faster than Corbett or Fitzsimmons, strikes a double blow and sends 55 SHOW HM lit A the ball fully six feet from him, and gives, altogether, one of the most phenomenal exhibitions of agility and quickness of eye and muscular response ever seen. four-inc- h ln 1 The surprise was quite as great as interesting, and Fritz lost no time in developing the vocal powers of his pet, to emarkable renditions of which, in recent years, housands in Salt Lake can readily testify . He ie has two distinct voices, guttural and nasal, ind while either having forgotten, or refusing to sing many of the tunes taught him years igo, he will sing the national hymn of Germany )r Yankee Doodle any time that Fritz will sad the duet. ut-rl- y d An inch rope is then loosened from its moorings on the wall, and Theres a pends from the ceiling. mouse up there, says Fritz, and Tom loses no time in climbing the rope to within six inches or so of the top and then returns to the floor without a slip in the twisted sisal. His next best trick is climbing a catstairs forward and backward. It is a serpentine ladder made of wire sus-Speciait- that demonstrates his surefootedness. d cal, for the cat is as careful as a child pull- up and verily harrow up the soul of the auditor, and Toms voice will then soften down from the treble into the bass clef, evolving the most pitiful notes of mourning that ever issued from humanity. us discovery p of a doomed soul, well much-fondle- d pouted, but The next on the programme is a run and jump by Tom to Fritz's shoulders, where, standing standing astride his neck, Tom will struble and muss-uFritzs faultlessly-combehair until he resembles a football player. Now comb me, says Fritz, and with his claws and padded feet Tom does a barber turn that leaves few hairs out of their original place. This feat is very comi- careful training and a retentive memory. If Fritz calls Tom to the bar and says : Tom, Ive broken a glass, Tom will proceed to cry just like a child who has fallen with the first pitcher of milk it attempted to carry. Again : Tom, Im going away to leave you, and will never see you again, one of the most outlandish midnight wails will come from Tom that was ever heard by one prostrated with nervous insomnia. Wail after wail, like the shrieks and dying cries T ,WAS SIX YEABS AGO too-numero- 5 ic. ing the first gray hairs from its grandmothers head. Toms solicitude seems not only to be the particular part- .. SCRA- P- YOU BET ing the hair, but avoiding the scratching of Fritss scalp. That will do, says Fritz, and then Tom will growl and swing down around Fritzs neck and plant his front claws deep in both lapels of the vest, hissing and growling and showing his teeth close to Fritzs chin, as if to bite him, but thin is only for a moment, and he then scratchingly descends to Fritz's upper apron, where he makes a savage bite and then jumps to the floor, waving his long, black caudal appendage while he growls savagely, exemplifying most beatifically the feline savagery that lies naturally in his otherwise domesticated blood. And yet Tom is only playing, for Fritz will grab him up by the scruff of the neck and shake him like a rat, the cat the while spitting and growling like a mountain lioness who has had a cub entrapped. With his released hand Fritz spars with all four claws during this scrapping, and putting his fingers or hand into the cats mouth when he is shaking him up, Tom has yet to scratch or bite. But it seems the cat will not allow anyone else to become familiar with him, nor will he perform any of his pranks for any one but Mr. Riepen and Colonel W. J. Shields, who gives the night PREFER TO while seances, Biepen SPARA L1NE Oft TWO conducts the matinees to the edification of the bibulous crowd generally in evidence. From an unprejudiced point of view, taking all things into careful consideration, so far as the feline species of animal is concerned, Tom Riepen is the most wonderful cat by education and unnatural instinct known to history. How Is Your Title? Is every deed or other instrument in perfect form? Are all the signa- tures and acknowledgments exactly what they should be? Has there been no deed or other necessary paper in the chain of title lost before it was recorded? Has there been no mortgage given by, cr judgment rendered against any of the many prior owners of the land? Have all prior liens been carefully removed? These are simply a few of the suggestions that might be made. We take pleasure in answering questions. Call and see E. W. Genter, Abstracter of Titles, 150 Main Street, (Jones Bank), about your title. Ordinary information will not cost you a cent, and the cost of the abstract is lower now than it ever will be again. The Lehi Banner contains a number of excellent articles on beet culture and sugar- - making which constitute its principal feature. |