The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1877-09-01
Worse Than the 'Bummers."

A few days ago Mr.. Holbrook, saga.
cious and successful grocery merchant
on Peachtree street, packed his stock of
goods, moved them from his store into a
vacant store door ortwootf, then ripped
up every plank in the floor, laid
down a floor of solid sheet.iron, replaced
the upper planks and moved his goods
back.
What does it all mean?" we asked
him.
1t means rats, j." he replied solemnly.
" Yes, sir, rats. tell you the rats here
cost me more by hundreds of dollars a
year than my taxes and insurance. l
have tried to get rid of them in every
possible way. | have found that they
continued to increase. | was consequent
ly forced to move out and put down a
sheetiron barrier between the thieves
and my goods"
Why didn't you try cats or terrers?"
Cats?" in tone of scorn. Cats
and terriers Did you ever see this new
breed Of rats that we have here? We
can't handle them with cats, or terriers
either"
Atlanta has become so thoroughly in
tested with rats that their destruction
has become matter of very serious i'm
pOrtanCe. The ruthless invader of our
store-rooms, granaries and coops is the
regular wharf rat--or Norway rat, as it is
called. 1t is an importation, and not a
native production. 1t is said that it came
with Sherman's army to Atlanta, being
brought hither in the forage for the horses
that was shipped from New York. The
Sherman rat, as we propose to call him
during the crusade against him that is
hereby inaugurated, is perfect monster.
He is as large as small kitten, has
huge thighs and foreshoulders, possesses
enormous strength, is cOmbative and
plucky, and his cruel, rapacious face is
ornamented with pair of flowing mus
taChes. He has bred with incredible ra-
pidity since his introduction here, and
has literally devOured or driven out the
modest, inOtfensiye, Old-fashioned little
gray rat that innocent, easily-satiste
vegetarian that may be termed " the rat
of our fathers" A more harmless little
rodent than our little rat of ante bellum
times can hardly be imagined. He was
accepted without murmur, and really
taken as sort of II pleasant Joke. He
figures in history as a decent, gentle
manly rat that cracked an occasional
grain of corn, or licked strip once in a
while from his tail that he had dropped
into some sweet jug He figures in his
tory in such pleasant episodes as the
famous visit of the country rat to the
city, and in poetry as the rat that ate the
malt that lay in the house that Jack
built. He did no harm, and was liked
and tolerated on all hands. But this
new rat, born in the throes of revolution,
and growing amid the fierce turbulence
of this latter day, is blood thirsty and
abnormal sCoundrel. He despises the
mild and musty corn, or the tranquil
jam upon which the rat of our fathers
fed, and whenever he wants lunch he
rushes out into your yard, seizes a half
grown chicken, and, clipping its throat
latch with his sharp teeth, throws the
palpitating corpse over his shoulders and
gallOps back to his den to wallow in warm
gore. These huge rats can be seen in
great numbers galloping about the stores,
and along the streets at night, tisalmost
impossible to raise poultry anywhere in
the city. The rats kill young chickens
and ducks with the greatest ease, and
during last winter entered, on one oCca-
sion, chicken coop and pulled from its
roost and destroyed a full-grown hen
They kill grown pigeons frequently.
They do not conine themselves to the city,
but are spreading into the country. We
have seen them six miles from town.
atlanta (G0) Constitution.