# Bunyan......Playing cat???



## Scott Bushey (Mar 17, 2006)

It is said of John Bunyan:

"All during his young manhood he was repenting for the vices of his youth and yet he had never been either a drunkard or immoral. The particular acts that troubled his conscience were dancing, ringing the church bells, and playing cat. It was while playing the latter game one day that "a voice did suddenly dart from Heaven into my soul, which said, 'Wilt thou leave thy sins and go to Heaven, or have thy sins and go to Hell?'"

.....what is "playing cat" ???


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## ANT (Mar 17, 2006)

I don't know ... But would, left to my own imagination think of a game like 'cat & mouse' or 'Hide and go seek' or something similar.


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## Saiph (Mar 17, 2006)

The game was called Tip-Cat. It consisted of a wooden block about three or four inches long, tapered at the end, and then a stick three feet or so long, and with that stick you would bang one end of that piece of wood so as to propel the thing into the air, and then swing at it (baseball!). It may well be the precursor to baseball.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tip-cat

[Edited on 3-17-2006 by Saiph]


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## Cuirassier (Mar 17, 2006)

Gents,

I think this will help ...

"Tip cat, also called ONE-A-CAT, is an outdoor game dating back at least to the 17th Century. It was introduced to North America and elsewhere by English colonists. The game was widely popular in 19th-century Great Britain and in early 20th-century North America. 

Although there are many varieties of the game, all involve a stick about 3 ft (1 m) long used as a bat, and a piece of wood (the cat) about 4 in. (10 cm) long, 1 to 2 in. (2.5 to 5 cm) thick, and tapered at the ends. The cat is placed on the ground, struck at one end to propel it upward (tipping the cat), and then slammed with the stick as far as possible. In one version, the batter tries to round the bases, as in baseball, before the fielder retrieves the cat and throws it back to home base. If a batter misses the cat three times or if a fielder catches it on a fly, the batter is out. Earlier versions of the game are based on guessing the distance that the cat is hit, scoring points according to the number that comes up on a four-sided cat, and running from base to base on a large circle while the cat is being retrieved. Some authorities consider tip-cat a forerunner of baseball and cricket."

source: http://www.1771.org/cd_tipcat.htm

dl

 - simulatenous posting! 

[Edited on 3-17-2006 by Cuirassier]


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## ANT (Mar 17, 2006)

Boy, was I wrong ... Sorry!


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## turmeric (Mar 17, 2006)

I believe the problem was playing cat on the Sabbath, I seem to recall reading that somewhere.


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## py3ak (Mar 17, 2006)

If I recall correctly, he stopped ringing the bells and just went to watch them being rung. It makes you wonder what would amuse us if we didn't have 24 & Smallville and UFC....


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