'Shackleton Shot my Cat!'

Today's post looks at a touching story of devotion and survival - a man and his cat "Mrs Chippy."


Shackleton's ship 'Endurance' trapped in ice.



In 1914 adventurer and explorer, Earnest Shackleton assembled a crew of like minded men to voygage to the Antartic in the Endurance. Master shipwright, the carpenter Henry McNeish, smuggled a cat aboard in his tool box. Much to the crews amusement this cat followed the carpenter around like 'a suspicious wife checking up on her husband' and despite actually being a tom cat, earnt the name "Mrs Chippy."

Mrs Chippy (acutally a tom cat!) on the shoulder of a crew member.



Aboard ship Mrs Chippy had many adventures of his own. The diary of Thomas Orde-Lees recounts the night of 13th September 1914 when Mrs Chippy fell overboard out of a porthole. Luckily the Officer of the Watch heard the spalsh and was able to turn the Endurance around, and despite spending 10 minutes in freezing water the cat was rescued, fit and well.
Mrs Chippy was not above tormenting the 60 Canadian Husky sled dogs, kenneled on the upper decks - either by sitting for a wash just out of reach, or by sharpening his claws on their kennels. The Bo-sun was so enraged by this activity that he threatened to toss the cat overboard - and was demoted for his efforts!

Endurance - trapped in ice for 6 months then abandoned.

But then disaster struck the expedition. In January 1915 the Endurance became trapped in Antarctic ice sheets. Worse still, Mrs Chippy disappeared for 5 whole days and many feared he had frozen to death - only to reemerge stretching and yawning as if he'd just woken from a good sleep!

'Mrs Chippy 's almost total disregard for the diabolical forces at work on the ship was more than remarkable - it was inspirational.' [A crew member]

Whilst the Endurance's crew eeked out their rations by eating penguin and seal meat, Mrs Chippy refused to compromise and insisted on his preferred diet of tinned sardines. In the 6 months the crew was stranded, Mrs Chippy was the only one to gain weight!

But after 6 months the huge crushing force of the ice took its toil on Endurance and there was no option but for the men to abandon their ship and make a heroic hike across ice sheets to find help. In this desperate survival situation Shackleton has little choice but to insist only items essential to survival were taken - and this did not include Mrs Chippy. After a final meal of sardines Mrs Chippy curled up for a sleep ...and never woke up. Shackleton ordered the cat shot.
Despite the amazing feet of all crew members reaching safety under Shackleton's leadership, a decade later Henry Mc Neish was still bitter about the loss of his cat. When interviewed about his ordeal, all he would comment was, 'Shackleton shot my cat.'

A bronze statue of Mrs Chippy resting on his master's grave.

Happily in 2004, the New Zealand Antarctic Society rectified their separation and commissioned a statue of Mrs Chippy to rest on Henry Nc Neish's grave.-

Cat Armour.

Today's blog post looks at the stunning work of artist, Jeff de Boer.

'Elven Princess' helmet - nickel, brass, leather and jade.



Jeff is a Calgary based artist whose career orginated in making suits of armour for people. Later, when studying at the Alberta College of Art and Design, he married his two interests in a sculpture project - by making a suit of cat armour.

The artist first draws the suit he has visualised. Then using sheet metal and jewellry makers tools he slowly bring the sketch to life, starting with the helmet and working backwards so every piece is in proportion.

Elven Princess Armour.

 Materials used to create one of these materpieces include; aluminium, brass, copper, nickel, silver, aluminium, jewels such as jade and textiles like leather.

Persian Cat Armour.

A suit of armour for a cat takes between 50 to 200 hours to make.

Samuria Siamese Armour.

Not content with the challenge of cat armour, Jeff also designs armour for mice - hence restoring some balance to the universe.

Sketch for Gladiator Mouse Armour.



To make a suit of silver mouse armour takes around 20 hours, and to polish it 10 hours.

Tournament Cat Armour.



I'm sure you will all agree that Jeff's work is utterly stunning both in execution and idea. Many thanks for Jeff de Boer and more of his work can be viewed at his website:
http://www.jeffdeboer.com/

Are you an Ailurophobe?

I'm not an ailurophobe. Quite the opposite in fact.
How about you?

An ailurophobe is a person with 'an irrational fear or hatred of cats.'
The term was first used by the Greek historian, Heroditus, after describing all the cats he saw in Egypt as 'tail wavers' or 'ailuroi.'

William Shakespeare was evidently an ailurophobe.

'I can endure anything but a cat,

the only good cat is a dead cat.'

But Shakespeare's dislike of cats was but as nothing compared to Napoleon Bonaparte's fierce fear of felines.

The French Emperor's Fear.

At the Battle of Wagram, an Aide de Campe heard cries for help coming from Bonaparte's tent. Fearing for his leader was in mortal danger, the Aide drew his sword and entered to find Napoleon sweating profusely and stabbing the air because a stray cat had wandered in. 

Evidently this fear was no secret. On another occaision a political opponent wrong footed Napoleon in an important debate merely by mentionning a cat!

Napoleon Bonaparte, French Emperor - was afraid of cats.

 My favourite Napoleon story comes from after his defeat at the Battle of Waterloo. Exiled by the British to the island of Saint Helena, Napoleon's residence was the damp, vermin infested estate at Longwood.

'Rats...came out at night...so thick as the floor appeared black.'

Reports filtered back to England that the Emporer had been biten by a rat. Ever compassionate, and perhaps knowing of his fear, it was decided to send a ship load of cats to St Helena. Posters were put up in market places offering sixpence per cat; strays and farm cats were rounded up by the wagon load, and promplty despatched to help with the infestaton. One can only imagine Napoleon's reaction when this cargo arrived at St Helena.

Sir Walter Scott - a reformed ailurophobe.

18th century historical novelist and poet, Sir Walter Scott, came to like cats in later life.

'The greatest advantage of old age I have yet found is liking a cat, an animal which I previously detested.'

He wrote further:

'I suspect many an ailurophobe hates cats only because he feels they are better than he is - more honest, more secure, more loved, more whatever he is not.'

I cant argue with that!

Surely no one could be afraid of such an adorable creature?



Grace Elliot - blog.: HISTORICAL SLANG.

Grace Elliot - blog.: HISTORICAL SLANG.: "5th October 2010. 'DAYLIGHT ROBBERY.' Surpisingly, the origin of the term 'Daylight Robbery' isnt as obvious as you might suppose. 'Dayli..."

'Trixie' in the Tower of London.

You may have realised by now that I'm a bit of a cat addict. In today's blog I have combined my favourite things - cats and history - with the true story of Trixie and the Third Earl of Southampton in the Tower of London.

Henry Wriothesley, the Third Earl of Southampton, and his cat Trixie. (Tower of London. n the top RIGHT corner)

This portrait shows the long faced Earl with his beloved cat, Trixie, and over his left shoulder a picture of the Tower of London. A somewhat unusual portrait the true story behind it is fascinating.

Boughton Hall - the 'English Versailles.'

Henry was at court in the time of the ageing Queen Elizabeth I. In fact his ancestoral home, Boughton Hall (described as the English Versaille) houses he only portrait of Elizabeth I looking old.

Allegorical portrait of Queen Elizabeth I - she hated to be seen looking old.

Unfortunately Henry was close friends with Robert Devereux, Master of the Horse and one of the Queen's favourites. However the royal attention went to Devereux's head and he became cocky, disobeying the Queen's direct orders and squandering her money. The furious Elizabeth withdrew royal patronage and with Devereux facing financial ruin he masterminded a rebellion. Rightly or wrongly Henry was named as a conspirator, arrested for treason and sent to the Tower of London to await execution.

The Tower of London.

But Wriothesley's devoted black-and-white cat, Trixie, saw him dragged from the house and followed along the London streets. Taken to the Tower, the story has it that Trixie jumped onto the roof tops and popped down an unlit chimney into his cell. Goodness only knows what a comfort she was to him, sharing his incarceration at such a terrible time, thinking he might die any day.
Happily the story ends well. Wriothesley remained in prison until Elizabeth died in 1603. The new monarch, King James I of England, pardonned him and eventually made Henry Wriothesley a Knight of the Garter. To mark this momentous event, Henry did what any decent cat lover would do - commission a portrait of him with faithful feline friend Trixie.

 -oO0Oo-

Pet Memorials....and Post Impressionism.

Following my previous posting, 'Raining Cats and Dogs'  a solution was badly needed about what to do with the bodies of deceased pet animals. The problem was so bad in 19th century Paris that the river Seine was constantly polluted with bodies swept from the city streets into her waters.


The River Seine in modern times.

 A Pet Cemetery is Proposed.
In the 1830's veterinarian Monsieur Changeur proposed the idea of a pet cemetery. He wrote sentimentally:

'...to secure a patch of land for the animal who was a faithful companion, a consoler of pain, who often has to is credit the rescue of human life...'

His plan had practical merits:

'...to improve the sanitation of Paris where in spite of the rules and regulations, dead animals are often buried in conditions that are detrimental to human health. Let us put an end to the waters of the Seine being poisoned by dead animals thrown into it...'

French Post Impressionism and Asnieres.
Several decades later Monsieur Changeur's campaign bore fruit several and a site purchased for the pet cemetery. The plot of land  was near the Siene, at Asnieres, immortalised in Georges Seurat painting 'The Bathers at Asnieres.'

French post-impressionist painter, Georges Seurat and 'Une Baignade a Asnieres.'

50 francs for a private plot.
The cemetery opened in 1899...for a fee. It cost 5 francs to bury an animal in common ground and 50 francs for of a private plot for 10 years (no mention what happens at the end of the ten years!) Alternatively, for those that could afford, 100 francs would obtain an exclusive plot for one hundred years.
However, there were strict restrictions about monuments and memorials considered appropriate for animals.



Monuments were banned from being reminiscent of human memorials.

 Restrictions on Memorials and Monuments.
Strict rules aimed to keep a definate distinction between human and animal burials. It was strictly forbidden to have:
'Ceremonies and decorations that mimic human burial.'

But that didnt stop many moving epitaphs from being inscribed on the tombstones. Such as:

'The more I know people, the more I love my dog.'
'One would have thought he was human...only he was faithful.'
'Decieved by the world but never by my dog.'

To finish, on a lighter note, I rather like the english humour from this memorial by Mr Kennedy, to his dog 'Scruffy.'

'Near this place lie the remains of a the faithful terrier, Scruffy.
Sever incontinence cut short a long life at the age of 18 years,
If her bladder had been stronger she would have lasted even longer.'

A Short History of Kitty Doors.

So many people enjoyed the previous post (Sir Isaac Newton and the kitty door) that I couldnt leave the subject of cat flaps without a brief look at their history.

The earliest recorded mention of a kitty door was in a medieval poem by religous writer and teacher, Hugo von Trimberg. The scourge of many a school boy, in the 1200's Von Trimberg wrote the history of 100 great latin authors. In one of his very long poems he grumbles about an Abbot, droning on interminably during a formal banquet about  'the cat window installed in the abbey gate.'

St Peter's Cathedral, Exeter.

Perhaps the oldest known cat flap is in the door of the North Tower of St Peter's Cathedral, Exeter, England. Cats were allowed to roam the grounds of this Norman cathedral to keep the rats and mice under check. Indeed on medieval scrolls there is an entry to pay wages to 'Custorbis et cato,' or 'the verger and his cat.'

Fishing Upon Blythe Sands, Tide Setting In.
J M W Turner 1775 - 1851.

And finally, my favourite kitty door from history belongs to the romantic landscape painter, J M W Turner.

Turner's works are now beyond price now and his painting 'The Fighting Temeraire' was voted Britain's greatest painting in a 2005 BBC poll, however he didnt always value his work.

'Fishing Upon Blythe Sands' depicts a scene facing Canvey Island in the Thames, exhibited in 1809, Turner offered it for sale to his patron Sir George Beaumont. Some time later it seems the painting ended up back in Turner's studio, perhaps to repair some minor damage, only to be treated with stunning disregard.
In the past decade, conservation work at Tate Britain, revealed that the picture had once been slashed, and there were paw prints on the back. Joyce Townsend, head conservator for the gallery, concluded the canvas had been propped up against a draughty window and then cut to provide an entrance/ exit for Turner's cats.

'The Fighting Temeraire'
The great warship being tugged for scrappage.
Voted Britain's greatest painting in a 2005 BBC poll.

Next blog: Historical Slang - Tuesday 14th September 2010

                 Blog entry         - Sunday 19th September 2010.

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