The Anglican cats of Morton Street loved to stalk the fish carts on Fridays.
On a late summer day in 1909, during the dog days of August, to be exact, a reporter for the New York Sun noted that there were almost as many cats on Morton Street as there were politicians. I’m not sure if he meant “as there were politicians on Morton Street” or if he meant “as there were politicians throughout New York or the entire country,” but I still laughed when I read that comment.
To demonstrate his point, the reporter shared a tale about a young mother named Sadie Martin, who had a remarkable encounter with several felines while making her way home one day.
This is not Anna Kaiser, but I can imagine her looking like this, albeit, with about 10 more cats on her lap and shoulders.
Anna Kaiser was a crazy cat women. Her husband, Hans, was not crazy about cats. Magistrate Ommen of the Yorkville Police Court had to take one side or the other, whether he liked cats or not.
Before the couple married, Anna (née Ammann) had about 50 cats. She agreed to get rid of 20 of them to please her would-be husband. I’m not sure how she did this; I’m pretty sure I don’t want to know.
I’m also not sure why he went along with the deal, but for some reason Hans agreed to marry Anna even though she still had 30 cats.
By 1903, Hans and Anna were living in their tenement apartment at 343 East 47th Street with about 20 or 30 cats, give or take a few. Hans supported his wife and her feline friends by working as a maltster, possibly at one of the many breweries in their Turtle Bay neighborhood.
On the morning of June 15, 1897, a large fire destroyed the immigrant landing station that covered most of Ellis Island, causing a property loss of close to $1 million for the United States Government.
Every immigrant escaped unharmed, thanks to the watchmen, attendants, doctors, and nurses who came to their rescue. All of the employees were also accounted for, thanks to the heroic pet dog of Dr. Joseph H. Senner, the Commissioner of Immigration.
How far would your cats be willing to go to catch a rat? Would they be willing to jump in a river like this barge office cat Old New York once did?
I can safely bet that Boo and Misha would never go swimming to catch a rat.
My two cats live indoors, and I’ve yet to see any type of rodent in my house, but I’d make a pretty high wager that neither Boo nor Misha would jump into a lake or river to catch a rat. In fact, I can easily picture them putting on the jelly-bean brakes at the edge of the water and watching the rodent swim away.
Richard II the Barge Office cat was an extraordinary exception to the feline rules. According to his owner, policeman Richard “Dick” Ganley, Richard II would do anything to catch a rat—he’d even jump into the Upper Bay and swim toward Governors Island or the Statue of Liberty in hot pursuit. Richard II could swim better than any duck, and it never took him long to catch up with the swimming rodents. According to Dick, his namesake always came out the winner, whether hunting rats by land or by sea.
Woodside has been uncomfortable ever since the wild animal farm, as it is known locally, was opened about a year ago. Every woman in the place has predicted that the animals would escape some dark, cold night and wipe out the town, devouring buildings and inhabitants. These predictions came near becoming true on Monday night… Every one trembled as word was passed from house to house, ‘The Ruhe wild animal farm has broken loose and we shall all be eaten alive.’–Brooklyn Daily Eagle, August 23, 1905
It wasn’t a cold night, the entire population of the animal farm did not escape, and the town wasn’t devoured. But it was probably dark when 10 elephants from the Ruhe Wild Animal Farm at 50-15 47th Avenue in Woodside, Queens, broke lose from their wooden enclosures and went trampling and trumpeting through the thick woods surrounding the farm buildings. As news of their escape spread, young boys gathered around 47th Avenue, Queens Boulevard, and 50th Street to watch as the animals’ caretakers rode around on horseback carrying elephant hooks, spears, ropes, and other tools.
Ruhe Wild Animal Farm resident veterinarian Gustave Vestermann with Zinna, a four-year-old baby elephant, in 1928.
Eventually all the elephants were rounded up and placed back in their enclosures. But it was a long time before sleep returned to Woodside (word is, there was a lot of activity at the local saloons that night).
Yes, this was Woodside Queens, adjacent to the Calvary Cemetery on Queens Boulevard, where a giant PC Richards electronics store and parking lot now stand. Amazing what 110 years can do to a place.
