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The New Zealand Railways Magazine, Volume 13, Issue 11 (January 1, 1939)

[section]

An Auckland adventure of this remarkable cat still puzzles the water-front.
“Blackie,” the “Matai's” adventurous travelling cat.

“Blackie,” the “Matai's” adventurous travelling cat.

“Blackie” walked ashore without leave in Auckland, but rejoined in Wellington ten days later. It happened that during this interval there had been no vessels making this trip. How did “Blackie” get to Wellington? There are people prepared to take their oath that “Blackie” was seen wandering around the Auckland railway yard, so one simply assumes that this very intelligent cat knew all about the Limited!

They were swapping “mean man” stories aboard the Rotorua express the other day. Presently the man in the corner said: “I was travelling from Lyttelton to Wellington awhile ago. In the smoke-room after dinner a well-dressed stranger asked me for a ‘fill.’ I handed him my brand new pouch. Later, feeling inclined for a whiff myself, I ventured to remind this chap that he had not returned my pouch. He had the nerve to tell me he had given it back ‘long ago.’ A barefaced lie, of course. But I couldn't prove it. The pouch was full of New Zealand toasted tobacco. I smoke nothing else. There's no tobacco like Cut Plug No. 10. And as I couldn't get any on the boat, I had perforce to wait for my next smoke till I got ashore. Doesn't always pay to be too obliging does it?” The tobacco mentioned by this passenger is one of the five famous toasted brands, the other four being Riverhead Gold, Desert Gold, Cavendish, and Navy Cut No. 3.*