Tales from the Morgue: In this arena the lion was sacrificed too

Helpless Crowd Sees Massacre of Baby Chickens
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Plate Glass Held Back Sympathetic Onlookers While Feline Feasted
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The plight of a crowd of early Christian martyrs in an arena with a hungry lion was experienced yesterday evening when 200 baby chicks in the window of the Tucson Seed store in East Congress street faced death for an hour at the hands of a white cat as a throng of sympathetic but helpless spectators looked on, while Watchman Phil Sheridan searched frantically for someone who could unlock either the front or back door.

The chicks, which were electrically hatched in California a few days ago, are kept in the front window, and for several days have been objects of much interest and admiration to the store cat.

Cat Effects Entrance.

Yesterday evening about 9:30 o'clock the persistent feline managed to effect an entrance through the screening at the back of the window space and jumped in among the chickens, which were just bedding down to rest.

The wicked cat immediately proceeded to select a nice juicy looking chick to play with, and began to toss it up in the air and paw it about, just as if it were nothing but an ordinary mouse and not a blue-blooded White Leghorn chick worth 15 cents.

After the blood thirsty feline had had sufficient sport out of the unfortunate chicken, it proceeded to make a meal out of the infant fowl.

Chicks Peck Feline.

In the meantime a crowd of chicks surrounded the cat and courageously began to peck at it, as if they expected to effect a rescue of the chick. This did bother the cat a bit, and when it had finished the first victim, it proceeded to select another from the mob of excited chicks, treating it in exactly the same way as the first.

A crowd gathered, quite horrified by the unusual sight, but entirely helpless to do anything to aid the chicks except to give advice that could not be carried out. Watchman Sheridan had arrived on the scene and when he found what was the matter began to try by telephone to get someone to the store who could unlock a door.

Rescue Finally Comes.

In an hour he finally succeeded in getting the door unlocked. In the meantime, however, the cat had made a meal of four chicks and had maimed several more that had joined in the attack. In order to satisfy justice the murderous cat was immediately lynched.