The weekly Union times. [volume] (Union C.H., South Carolina) 1871-1894, 1877-11-02
A FIGHT FOR LIFE WITH RATS

|
u,ce Cticcr o"d His Wife C6nqucriu,
tie Rocic"tsd By E2cch4ci:y- Tc,ribIc Fat,
IF u LhH
The vast number of rats inhab;tinr the
rocky crcvices and cavcrnous passages ot
the summit of Pixies Peak, in Colorado
have recently become formidable and dan.
Sctous. These animals arc known to feed
upon saccharinc gum that percolatcs
through the p res of the rocks. apparently
upheaved by that volcanic action which at
irregular intervals of n teN days, gives to
the nioN0Vain crest that vibratory motion
which has been detected by the instruments
used IN the office Of the United States sig
nal station. Since the establishment of the
government signal station on tho summit of
the Ieak, at an altitude of nearly $4,000
lcct, these animals have acquired Il voracious
appetite for raw and uncuoEcd meat tho
scent OF which seems to impart To them a
ieroclty rivalims the starved Siberian wolf
! he most singular trait in the character Of
these animals Is, they are never to be seen
III the daytime. When the moon pours
down her quccnly light upon the summit
they may be seen in countless numbers,
hopping around among the rocky boulders
tl'at crown this barren waste and during
the warm summer months they may be seen
swimming and sporting in the waters of the
lake, short distance below the crest of the
Peak aud Of a dark. cloudy night their
trail in the water exhibits glowing, spark
ling light, giving to the waters Of the lake
fiickcrnS sivery appearance A few DAYS
since MIR. John I. O'Kcci, one of the GOV
ernmcnt operators At the signal station, re
turned TO his post from Colorado Springs,
taking with him quarter of beef 1t being
late IN the afternoon, lis colleague. Mr..
Hobbs, Immediately left with the pack ani
nal foi the Springs Soon after dark.
whlIe Mr.. U kcef was engaged in the office
forwarding night dispatches to Washington,
he was startled by Il loud scream from Mrs.
v heet, who had retired for the night in an
bedroom, and who came rushing
into the office screaming, The rats the
rats Mr.. Okecf, with great presence Of
mind, immediately girdled his wife with
scroll of zinc plating, such as had been used
su~.ss from clili,ping upun ner person
and, although his own person was almost
literally covered with them he succeeded
in incasing his legs each iu u joint Of stove
pipe, when he commenced fierce and dcs.
perate struggle Tor the preservation Of his
life, with heavy war-club preserved 1T the
station, among other Indian relies captured
at the battle of Sand Creek Notwithstand.
ing hundreds were destroyed on every side
still they seemed to pour with increasing
numbers from the bcdr ,om, the door Of
which had been left open. The entire quar-
ter OF beef was eaten in less than five min
utes, which seemed only to sharpen their
appctitcs for IN attack upon Mr.. O'Kecf,
whose hands, face and neck were terribly
laceraicl. In the midst of the warfare
Mrs. Okcef managed to reach a coil of
electric,wire hanging near the battery and,
being a. mountain girl familiar with the
throwing of the lariat, she hurledi it through
the'afr, causing it to cncirclc her husband
and.spring out from its loosencd fastcnnss,
making innumcrable spiral ways, along
which she poured the electric fluid from the
heavily charged battery In an instant the
room was all ablazc with electric light, and
whenever the rats came in contact with the
wire they were hurled to an almost instant
death. The appearance of daylight, made
such blythe coruscation of the heavily char
ged wire, caused them to take refuge among
the crcviccs and cavcrns of the mountain,
by way Of the bedroom window, through
which they had forced their way. But the
saddest part Of this night attack upon the
Peak is the destroying Of their infant child,
which Mrs. O'keef thought she had made
secure by heavy covering of bed clothing;
but the rats had found their way to the in
fant (only two months DID, and had left
nothing of it but the peeled and mumblcd
skull. Drs. Thorn and Anderson thought
at first that the left arm Of Sergeant O'Kcef
would have to be amputatcd, but succeeded
.in saving it.
DIDN'T WANT HIS HAIR CUT.-Thc
following coloquy took place in barber
shop not more than thousand miles from
East Bay a day or two ago:
Bulldozing barber. Haze your hair cut
to-day, sir?
Customer. No, sir.
b. b. lwhile thumbling among the locks. }
Very long, very struggling, sir; comes clear
down. t6your coat collar.
G. All right; I'll have the collar moved
down.
End Of the colloquy: .as
IL II II