The Iola register. [volume] (Iola, Allen County, Kansas) 1875-1902, 1884-07-25


ssGuess, I" said q real estate man the
other day to Mail and Express reporter,
s.what it costs to board q herd Of rats you
don't want. Rats are the kind of prop
ersy to which no amount of search will
improve your title, 50 fellow never
finds out the extent Of his possessions
in that way, except so far as he IS able
to infer it from the len !, th of his plumb
er's bill. There is where they count.
Take a block of flats ia Lexington
avenue for instance. They are fine
fats, with room for hundred tenants
or SO. Our bills for repairs to the
water-pipes nade necessary by the
gnawing of rats approached near to
5000 last year, not TO mention the
harm they did in frightening timid ten
ants with visions of ghosts in every lit
tie pit-a-pat of their 1eet on the cerling.
1t is my deliberats opinion that the rat
was the ghost liz every haunted house
that has been invented from the Middle
Ages down, and, to the women atleast,
every bit as terri le as if it had been
the real original Jacobs. Why! we are
now seriously considerin an offer from
q professional ratcatcher in Fulton
street to clear the houses and keep the
rat. out of them henceforward for 800
q year. 1t would certainly pay us. if
this thing is to 60 on.
Pas ing few days later the rat
catcher's office the reporter inquired
and learned that his offer had been re-
jected, and that the lent of the flats
had started the bu ines for himself
with traps and poison. - -.
when he gets tired" said the rat
catcher. IL will clear the house for
him. How do l do it, With this
ami the little man gave a low. sharp
whistle. Instantly above the edge of
S deep window recess appeared the
cleaning eyes of a long, slender ami
NAL of dirty yellow and black color.
the 1.-the movements Of whose body
suggested an eel, while its general
look was one of Unsuitable ferocity. 1t
chung to the edge of tie window while
its owner made pass or two before it
with his hand, and suddenly clutched
it from behind by the neck with a grip
that had in it the assurance of personal
safety in all emergencies.
"This ferret will drive them out" he
said, holding it up for inspection.
'Why isn't an old cat as good Re-
cause he can't get into their holes, but
has to wait for them 10 come out This
one can. In the winter have q hun
dred like it at work all over the city.
Just now they breed and are allowed to
rest to great extent. Yes, sir! 1t
costs q good deal of money to keep a
herd of rats; often more than it would
to pasture as many COWS. The more
wonder that some houses seem fairly
built to harbOr rats; the very ones in
fact in which YOU would suppose they
could never get in. Houses iofNstonc,
brick and iron with never rat hole in
their cemented cellar floors that they
could come through, are often the
worst, fairly overrun. No wonder; the
rats can't get out, and, being comfort
able, they nest in the hollow iron col
umns that are rough inside. and be-
tween the arched ceilings and the
floors. Somewhere on the top floor or
below they find lunch-room or pantry
where provisions are handy. How did
they get In? When the building was
under erection the surrounding houses
stocked it. 1t is a rats business TO 90
everywhere, and he attends to it, which
is more than some men do.
81 know of one of our big exchange
buildings downtown here that is built
that way, fire-proof from cellar to gar
ret, that is such rat-nest. l have Of
fered to clear it for $1,000. but was told,
it was too much However, can wait.
They will be glad TO pay that by and
by. l have seen rats eat through a
bale of silk or fancy leather in single
night and spoil 500 worth of property.
Why do they do it9 To sharpen their
teeth, suppose, or because the thing
they gnaw contains some grease or
something they like to eat. They give
the plumbers alone lots and lots of
work,toid do by guawing the wat r-pipes.
Why they do that is hard to say. Fer
haps to get at the water, perhaps be-
cause they like the lead or the plumber.
1t amounts to the same thing.
There are scores of men IN this
town who pay from $500 to 500 TO
have Their houses kept free from rats.
The number of them don't count in the
price. If man has ~ 900, 900 and
rat under his bedroom floor, it is a
question not OF the intrins value of
that rat, but of its hosts nights rest,
and the rodent rates &C ordingly. The
big country seats up the Hudson are
overrun with them. and often gives us
3 JOB. In the city it is chiefly the
downtown stores and warehouses and
tie new fire-proof rat-nests. The weak
nerves of the bellies up on Fifth avenue
give our business a lift. too. on occa-
sions. There is nothing that appeals
to them like an able-bodied rat. ~.
I. Mail and Express.
Queer COnyeyanceS-