Newspaper Clipping of the Day

Via Newspapers.com

As I have mentioned before, I have a particular fondness for Sailor Cats. This week’s post pays tribute to one of the most well-traveled of them all. The “Kansas City Times,” January 31, 1897:

Here is a cat that is striving to make a unique record. To cover 1,000,000 miles is the goal of its ambition and that of its owner, Chief Engineer A. D. Little of the steamer Alameda 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 master are living in the hope that he will be able to reach the million mark. Incidentally, Tom has had many strange experiences. 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 of which Mr. Little has sailed as chief engineer for over thirteen years. The Alameda plies between 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 the miles he travels, adding to the score whenever the famous old feline reaches port. On the waterfront at San Francisco Tom is as well known, in fact, better, than the oldest policeman on the beat, and surely twice as well liked, and at Honolulu, Apia, Auckland and Sydney he is first favorite with all who frequent the docks.

There will certainly be a general lamentation if Tom is not spared to make his record of 1,000,000 miles, but the chances are that he will, for at present the old cat is as healthy as he ever was. It was not until Tom had been at sea for ten years that Mr. Little began to figure up the number of miles he had covered, but since that time he has kept a careful record, and at the close of the last voyage, when it was discovered that Tom had covered a 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 left San Francisco he looked as strong as if he were still in his prime, and so the race between him and death goes on, with time having the best of it up to now.

Tom, originally, belonged to the crew of the bark Alden Bessie. He was 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 was anxious to start a record for traveling. Several of the sailors tried to catch him, but Tom would not be caught. He secreted himself in various parts of the ship until she went to sea, and from that day to this, he has been on board the Alameda.

As he grew older, Tom began to settle down to business, and it was not long before 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 a great deal of comfort.

From the moment that Tom boarded the Alameda he kept to himself. No amount of coaxing could make him friendly. He would not allow anyone to pick him up, and if any of the sailors tried to stroke him, he would dart 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 galley. In his anxiety to catch his foe Tom jumped onto the stove. His feet were badly burned, and with a howl of pain he rushed out of the galley and stowed himself away in the 'tween decks. Engineer Little, who has always been very fond of Tom, started for him, groping among the cargo for several hours, at last finding him writhing in pain between two barrels. Little picked up the cat and took him to his room, dressing his feet with vaseline every day until they were cured, and from that time Tom has been friendly to the chief engineer.

There are now three cats on board the Alameda, but of course they are not such old voyagers as Tom, and he seems to know it. for under no circumstances will he allow one of the "green hands" to walk on the poop. Perhaps when they, too, have traveled 675,000 miles things will be different, but now Tom is very strong. Thirteen years of good 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 stateroom, but there is something paradoxical about 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 deposit the carcass by Mr. Little's door.

But this wonderful traveling cat is sagacious in other ways. He knows the sound of a flying fish, and never one falls on the deck that does not find its way to the chief engineer's door. Flying fish are considered quite a delicacy at sea, but Tom is always rewarded for his faithfulness by being allowed to eat his captive. The only annoying part about this peculiarity of Tom's is that he will often crawl onto Mr. Little's bed and awaken him if he has a victim's body on display. But 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 his younger 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. Little has always been at a loss to know how the cat seemed to realize that the ship was about to sail, but the fact remains that he did so, 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 Sydney, in which, although Tom came out ahead, he did not do so without receiving several reminders of the affray.

When Tom had finished his first 600,000 miles of travel, his American admirers in San Francisco presented him with a silver collar, marked with the inscription "Old Tom, S.S.. Alameda. Presented by his American admirers July 4, 1896."

There was considerable fun at the presentation. A delegation waited on Mr. Little and explained to him their mission. Tom was escorted to the 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-making began they were all as interested as if they were listening to an oration over the body of some fallen hero. Tom's history was rehearsed, and due tribute was 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 1,000,000 miles, for which sentiment there were loud cheers. Then the chief 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 by the gift, inasmuch as Tom was well known to be a gold cat. However, he continued. Tom would wear his silver 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 luncheon was served, in which Tom joined, and after his health had been drunk several times, the party disbanded. But It was a proud day for Engineer Little, who thinks as much of his pet as he does of anything in the world. Tom's friends in Sydney have asked the privilege of presenting him with a gold collar when he has finished his 1,000,000 miles, and it is expected that there will be great rejoicing when the event comes off.

Sadly, Tom never reached his goal. The “Honolulu Adviser” for July 22, 1898 reported that this great Sailor Cat had made his last journey:

Chief Engineer Little's handsome big cat Tom, for thirteen years the mascot of the Alameda, died at San Francisco when the ship was last in that port. Tom was buried at sea.

Tom was probably the most traveled cat in the world, and had he lived to reach Sydney, N.S.W., would have earned a gold collar for having sailed a million miles by sea. When he died he wore a silver collar, which marked the completion of 700,000 miles of travel. It was presented to him in Sydney and bore the following inscription: "Old Tom. S.S. Alameda. Presented by his American admirers, July 4, 1896."

When Tom was a kitten he forsook the bark Alden Bessie and took up his abode on the Alameda. Chief Engineer Little was the only person aboard with whom he would make friends, and to him he remained faithful until the hour of his death. Of the thousands who have sailed the Southern seas on the Alameda there is not one but will remember Tom and his owner. They were great subjects for the camera fiends and Mr. Little has over fifty different pictures by various artists of the dead cat.

RIP, Tom. You had a great run.

San Francisco Call, July 13, 1898