The Iola register. [volume] (Iola, Allen County, Kansas) 1875-1902, 1883-05-04
Rats.

Ii white rat escapes into sewer o.
other domain of his gray brother, tn,
latter very quickly makes a formal as
sertion of his seniority by eating him
But it is very extraordinary fact tina
q number of albinos in a cage vii
brighten away the other rats. Why thi.
is I haven't the least idea: but that it i;
so have reason to believe has beer
proved in several instances that have
come under my notice. In steam
ers that have been overrun witt
these vermin, mine has beer
the only cabin free from theil
incursions, although my predecessor
have complained bitterly of the depre
dations they have committed. / have
observed it also in an infested cellar OF
terra firma, but the most remarkable
confirmation of this circumstance evel
saw was at sea. l lived in a cabin OF
the upper deck, one of the several open
ing into an alleyway, and all, as wei
asthe surrounding deck-houses, haunted
by these pets to an extent which wa.
seriously inconvenient, to say the leas-
of it. To keep a bird was well-nigf
impossible, while inanimate property
deteriorated considerably from theil
visitations or disappeared altogether
So said my neighbors, for slept tran.
gully over sixty albinos, and l did moi
see dark intruder the whole voyage
though there was big .'run'' under
the settee. Well, everybody declared
it must be the snakes that kept then
off, so, knowing that they had nothing
to do with it, l devised test. The dis
pensary just opposite was vermin
stricken in common with the rest OF
the alleyway; they did not take
the medicines, it is true, though
linseed-meal, sticking-plaster, oile6
silk, adhesive labels, pill-boxes
bandages, and wrappers found grea'
favor in their eyes. But what they
coveted was towel or glas:
cloth, such as was accustomed tokeeI
there to dry my fingers from accidental
spills when the boat was rolling. or t6
occasionally wipe bottle or glass wher
"serving OUT physic, as the sailors
used to say. Whether the slight medic.
inal flavor thus acquired commended
it specially 10 them-Or not, do not pre-
tend to say; but certain it was that nc
sooner was my back turned, even in the
daytime, than the cloth was dragged of
the rail where it hung and pulled in
under the chest of drawers. 1t was
some while before the mystery of this
was solved, and / feaI
that my unfortunate boy had rather o
warm time of it until he one day des-
perately pulled out the bottom drawer
in lucid interval and disclosed a hear
Of nibbled rags. Here was a golden
for proving my theory!
put half a dozen albinos in aparrot-cage
and stood it on the floor of the dispen.
sary; for two days the glass-cloth was |
Then placed piece OF
bread there on the third evening; next
l found it very slightly gnawed |
and moved q few inches, as if the |
banditti had begun to carry |
It off but had been scared from their in |
tent by ghostly apparition in the par.
rot-cage. But on the third morning the
cage was furnished with rather toe |
liberal a bed, and during the day the
bread was devoured, because the wraiths |
we're all laid-under the hay; as soon
Is this was trampled down and bitten
mail, however, SO that the white occu-
PANTS were always visible, a second |
,iece OF bread was untouched and the |
hieves returned no more until the sur.
,ery was relieved of the dreadful pres
nee and the glass-cloths made fast tc
! nail.-AU the Year Round.