Gloucester County Democrat. (Woodbury, N.J.) 1878-1932, 1882-04-06
A RALcATcHER's METHODS.
A Might With an Expert in nm InfectIi
Carriage House.


his expeditions against his enemy, the
rat, and few nights later they met at 8
stable in West Fortieth street. The
rat-catcher wore q pair Of light cloth
slippers, heavy trousers, flannel, shirt
and vest. He had kit OF tools with
him, and at about IL o'clock he went
to work. First he went carefully around
the edges of the floor. and learned every
rat hole. There were a number; some
at the edges of the partitions between
the stalls, others at the washstand, and
number in the harness closet. The
rats had ruined valuable harness. Many
efforts had been made to exterminate
them, but without success.
81 guess I'll get 'em out. sir. I just
cleared 217 rats out of q private resi-
dence on Tenth avenue in three
nights" he said.
He then took number of little wire
doors out of his bag. They were about
four inches square. One of these was
screwed over each rat hole at an angle
of forty-fve degrees, SO that the rat
could easily raise it on coming out Of
the hole, but could not get back into
the hole again after it had dropped in
place. When every hole had been thus
covered, the reporter retired to the top
shelf of long step-ladder and smoked,
while the rat-catcher turned down the
lights and cleared the large floor of the
stable all the small objects that could
be readily piled in the carriages or on
the shelves.
"Are you sure the rats will come
out?"
"Oh, yes, sir. They comes out ev cry
night. Some men professin' to call
themselves professionals, claims that
they has poison that will make rats
come out O. their holes an die, but it
can't be done. They claims, also, as
how they can charm rats; more lies. I
assure you. Phosphorus poison causes
most horrid thirst, an the rats comes
out of their holes an drinks, an then
goes back an dies. Then there's a
pretty how-to-do, an whole floors must
come up at great expense"
He was moving about in a most steal
thy manner, now trying one little gate
and now another. A large bag of coarse
material, with string with which to
close the opening, hung on harness
peg, and he had sprinkled little pow
der down several of the holes, which
was designed to make the rats thirsty
and cause them to come out for water.
He lighted stub pipe and perched
himself on the bottom of the step-lad-
der, with his chin in one hand, while
he slowly opened and closed pair Of
tongs, nearly two feet long, with fat
blades.
Everything was quiet for few min
utes. and then there was slight scratch
ing at one Of the little doors, and a
monstrous rat, as fat as an alderman,
slowly came out. The door dropped to
behind him; he turned quickly, tried
to get back, and ran squealing along
the wall.
"He's good one" !" remarked the lit
tie man in whisper, going out into the
middle of the room, laying his pipe on
the step and turning up the gas. "rll
tell you what I'll do; I'll catch this one
in my hands"
He began to squeak through his
teeth, making noise like the squeaking
Of a rat, and slowly approached the fat
intruder. The rat backed into corner
and stood with his little eyes cleaning
and tail swishing rapidly from side to
side. The rat catcher slowly drew
closer until the rat suddenly shot off
along the wall. In an instant the little
man had sprung forward with bound
that wss entirely reckless, and went.
head first, for the rat. Both his hands
were outstretched, and he pinned it to
the focr with q force that made it
squeal. The bound was like that which
cat would make.
ssHe is, indeed, a fat one, sir, he
said, getting on his feet you'll OBJ
sarve- ----n
"Keep him awayi Amt you afraid
he'll bitea'
aAfraid, sir / do assure you nothing
is further from my thoughts. Be slider.
it's very rarely that they bite il you
know how to handle 'em. You might
let this one run all over you and not get
hurt
"Yes might, but won't"
II will, then," he said. calmly, and
before the reporter could interfere, the
little Englishman had thrust the rat in
side his clothing. and the creature
emerged from his right trousers leg and
shot like meteor behind the step lad
der. The reporter raised his feet one
step higher, and the rat-catcber crept
up toward the rat with the same quiet
movement that a cat displays. The
badgered animal shot one way and then
another until it reached the corner,
when the little man pounced on it and
dropped 1t into the bag. There it
squealed for time, and then became
quiet, while the little rat-catcher re-
snmed his pipe.
sWere you ever badly bitten p
| "Several times. Once I suffered
long, but I deserved II, for I let the
beast bite me through carelessness, you
| know. His bite noisoned nv arm. an