Belmont chronicle. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1855-1973, 1857-01-22
Gboife MisttIlanp,
Rat Catching in Che Arctic Regions.
An Extract from Kane.

September 80, Friday.-We have been
terribly annoyed by rats. Some days ago.
we made a brave effort to smoke them out
with the vilest inns ginabe compound Of va
pors, rs,-brmstone, burnt leather. and arsen-
ic,-anG spent cold night in deck bivnuac
to give the experiment fair play. But they
Survived the fumigation. We now deter
mined to dose them with carbonic acid gas.
DIR. Hayes burnt quantity of charcoal; and
we shut down the hatches, after pasting up
every fssure that communicated aft and
starting three stoves on the skin of the fore
peak.
AS the gas was generated with extreme
rapidity in the confined area below, great
caution had to be exercised. Our French
cook, good Pierre Sahubert,-who 10 a con-
siderable share of bull-headed intrepidity
unites commend bile portion of profession
al zeal,--stole below, without nv knowledge
OF consent to season a soup. Morton for-
tunately saw him staggering in the dark i;
and, reaching him with great difficulty as he
fell, both were hauled up in the end Nor
ton, his strength almost gone, the cook per-
fectly lnsensible.
Tie next disaster was of graver. SORT.
] record it with emotions of ming led awe
and thankfulness. We have narrowly es-
capped being burnt out of house and home.
] had given orders that the fires, lit under
my own eye. should be regularly inspected;
but learned that Pierre's misadventure had
made the watch pretermit for time open
ing the hstches. As lowered lantern.
which was extinguished Instantly, susPi-
cious odor reached me. as Of burning wood.
/ descended At once. Reaching the deck OF
the forecasile, my first glance toward the
fires showed me that all was safe there :
and, though the quantity of smoke sill sur
prised me, was disposed TO attribute it to
the recent k;ndliDg. Bnt at this moment,
while passing on my return near the door
of the bulkhesd, which leads to the carpen-
ter's room, the gas began to affect me. My
lantern wen, out as if quenched by water:
and, as ran by the bulkhead door, saw
the deck near il mass OF glowing fire for
some three feet in diameter. | could no.
tell how much farther i. extended; for be-
came quits inser sible at the foot of the lad
der, and would have sunk had not Mr.. Brooks
seen nv condition and hauled me cut.
When / came TO myself, which happily
was very soon, confided my fearful secret
to the four men around me, Brooks, Ohlsen
Blake, and Stevenson. 1t was all-impor-
,aut TO avoid confusion: we shut the doors
of the galley, SO as to con6ne the rest ,f the
crew and officers aft; and then passed up
water from the frehole alongside. 1t was
done very noiselessly. Ohlsen and myself
went down to the burning deck; Brooks
handed us in the buckets; and in less thai
ten minutes we were in safety. Ii was ia
teresting to observe tie effect of steam up
on the noxious gas. Both 0blsen and my
self were greatly oppressed until the
frst blcket was poured on; but as die
this, directly over the burning coal, raising
clouds of steam, we at once eXper FENCED
relief: the fine aqueous PARTICLES seemed tt
absorb the carbonic acid instantly. We
found the fire had originated in the remain;
of barrel of charcoal, which had been lef
in the carpenters room, ten feet from thu
stoves. anc with bulkhead separating i
from them. How it had been ignited it wa
impossible to know. Our safety was du'
to the dense charge of csrbonic acid ga
which surrounded the fire, and the exclusion
of atmospheric air When the hatches wer
.opened the flames burst out with energy
Our,ire hole was invaluable; and rejoice
thai in the midst of our heavy duties, ,hi
essential of an Arctic winter haTbor had no
been neglected. The ice around the bri
was already fourteen inches thick.
October /, Saturday Upon ;nspectin
the scene of yesterdays operations, W
found sweaty-eight ve!l-fed rats of all varie
ties OF age. The cook, though unable to d
doty, is better: can hear him chanting hi
Bersnger through the blankets IN his Ount
happy over his holiday. happy to be haPP
at everything. had larger dose Oh ca
kouic acid even than he, and an s'ne.'n
considerably with palpitations ant VeFis'
If the sentimental Asphyxia OF P&r's'a
charcoal resembles in its advent that of I'd
Arctic zone, it must be. think, poor wa.
Of dying. 800