Evening Republican, Volume 21, Number 147, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 9 July 1917 — SHIPS’ MASCOTS LOSE NERVE [ARTICLE]

SHIPS’ MASCOTS LOSE NERVE

Pet Animal* on British Vessels Show the White Feather When Shell* Begin Exploding. There are some Incidents about the mascots in the big naval battle of Jutland which are worth repeating. The mascot on the Tiger was a bulldog, a. fine fellow. When getting into the battle the crew Were a bit concerned S* to how their favorite would take the crashing of high explosives on th® ship, so they plugged his ears with cotton wool, wrapped his head around a* it he bad a heavy dose of toothache, and a couple of men took the bulldog, much to bls annoyance, to a room that was thought to be as quiet as the ship could provide. The dog didn’t quite fancy being treated as an invalid and resented the coddling, but when the shots began he took it pretty badly and was mighty glad he had a pal sltting on either side holding him by the paws. x a Another boat had a fine, big black cat He was overlooked when they got into action, and the first shell that came aboard this fellow got loose and took a flying dive overboard. As the boat was going about 27 knots, even the most tender-hearted Jack Tar could hardly risk going after Tommy. On another ship they had, a little bantam, which strutted about more proudly than the dinkiest midshipman and with as big a show of courage as the hardiest of old seadogs. The tars were proud of the “swank” their pet could assume before strangers. When the first German shell crashed on board the bantam lost all his fine show and flew down one of the ventilators. When he was rescued and photographed after the fight he presented a bedraggled appearance.—London Post.