The Somerset press. [volume] (Somerset, Ohio) 1873-1977, 1880-08-26
BETTER THAN A SNAKE STORY.

BETTER THAN A SNAKE STORY.
A Boy. Encounfer with Rats i'm .. vauIt
Rats that Weigh Eight Pound. Each.
No. Franklin pa, Letter to the New York Sun
Twenty years or SO ago, Herman Min
mich owned brewery along French
Greek, in this place, A storage vault or
tunnel belonging to the brewery was
excavated in the side of the hill nearly
two hundred feet in length. There was
a great food in the creek in 1865, and
the water threatened to fill the vault. A
large quantity of beer was stored there
beer from being carried away Brewer
Minnich was drowned. Phillip Gross
man now keeps saloon near the vault,
which he uses to store cheese, bologna,
and beer in. The vault for some time
has been overrun with rats of an enorm-
GUS size. They frequent the tunnel in
such numbers and are SO bold and ag
gressive that Grossman has long found
it necessary to take some one with him
to fight the rats away while he takes out
cheese or beer The cheese is kept COW
cred with tin cases, through which the
rats can not gnaw. , ..f .ft.-
{ Among Grossman's children are two
boys-Philly, thirteen, and Eddie, eight
years old. They are both extremely
fond of Swiss cheese. "A few days ago
they determined to make a raid on the
store of their favorite cheese in she old
brewery vault. They knew it would be
necessary to fight an army of rats in
order to secure the prize they coveted,
but that did not deter them. Philly
armed himself with heavy piece Of
hoop-ron, and the two boys entered the
vault, the youngest one carrying the Ian
tern. They had gone but few feet only
when the rats began to dispute their
passage. Rats scampered about them
on every side, and it was with difficulty
that Philly kept them off of himself and
brother by the active welding of his
piece of iron. Some of the rats were of
enormous size, and the army kept the
boys entirely surrounded, moving along
toward the further end of the tunnel
with them and keeping up loud and
fierce outcry as they marched. Several
times one of the rats, more bold than his
companions, would jump savagely at one
or the other of the boys; but these in
variably met death or were disabled by
blows from Phillys iron. The younger
boy wanted to go back after rat had
leaped up and caught him by the sleeve
with his teeth; but his brother quieted
his fears, and told him that the rats were
only playing.
By the time the boys reached the end
of the tunnel, where the cheese was kept,
the erats had gathered by hundreds around
the children, covering the cheese boxes
and running over the boys in spite of the
efforts of the older one to keep them off.
Philly took off his coat and wrapped it
around his little brother to protect him
from the rats, and then proceeded to m-
cover a cheese. The rats piled upon
him and an about him, as though frantic
with the prospect of getting possession
of the cheese themselves. Philly beat
about him right and left, but finding it
impossible to drive the rats away, SO that
he could get a box raised, he told his lit
tie brother to 60 back and tell his father
to come into the vault as soon as posi-
BILE. The little fellow hastened out, leav-
ing Philly alone in the dark, battling
with the rats, which were gradually get
|, ting the better of him. He placed his
back against one side of the tunnel. and
welded his weapon continually, killing
or disabling rat at almost every blow.
When the younger child carried the
news to his father that Philly was in the
vault surrounded by the rats, Grossman
and two neighbors armed themselves
with clubs and hurried to the rescue of the
boy. The army of rats seemed to num-
Der thousands when they reached the
scene. The men joined in the contest,
but so numerous and persistent were the
rats that they were more than an hour IN
conquering them. Dead rats lay piled on
every side, and their number was &C
greatly reduced that the survivors were
finally driven to their holes. Eight hun.
dred and nineteen dead rats were carried
from the vault. One of them weighed
over eight pounds. The carcasses filed 9
two-horse box wagon, and were q good
load for team to draw away. The com.
bined weight Of the rats was over ton.