July 26 Sunday – Jean Clemens’ fifth birthday.

Sam returned to New York City, from whence he traveled back to Elmira, since he wrote from there on July 27.

From Susy’s unfinished biography of her papa:

It is Jean’s birthday to day. She is 5 yrs. old. Papa is away today and he telegraphed Jean that he wished her 65 happy returns.

Papa is very fond of animals particularly of cats, we had a dear little gray kitten once that he named “Lazy” (papa always wears gray to match his hair and eyes) and he would carry him around on his shoulder, it was a mighty pretty sight! The gray cat sound asleep against papa’s gray goat and hair. The names that he has given our different cats are realy remarkably funny, they are namely Stray Kit, Abner, Motley, Fraeulein, Lazy, Buffalo Bill, Soapy Sall, Cleveland, Sour Mash, and Pestilence and Famine [MTA 2: 82].

There are eleven cats at the farm here now. Papa’s favorite is a little tortoise-shell kitten he has named “Sour Mash,” and a little spotted one “Fannie.” It is very pretty to see what papa calls the cat procession; it was formed in this way. Old Minnie-cat headed, (the mother of all cats) next to her came aunt Susie, then Clara on the donkey, accompanied by a pile of cats, then papa and Jean hand in hand and a pile of cats brought up in the rear, mama and I made up the audience [Salsbury 208].

From Livy’s diary:

…Her father was in New York, he telegraphed her wishing her sixty five returns. Where shall we all be at that time [?] 1950. Jean saw the little birds picking up seeds and worms at all sorts of irregular times and she said to Aunt Sue, “doesn’t it hurt the birds to eat between meals [?]” [MTP].

Karl Gerhardt wrote about interest in a statue of Grant with pedestal for Mt. McGregor [MTP].