The Sauk Centre herald. (Sauk Centre, Stearns County, Minn.) 1886-current, 1888-01-12
RATS IN A MENAGERlE.'
A Reporters Experience with a Parlor
Rifle-Monkeys, Rats, Birds, Mice.

A Reporters Experience with q Parlor
Rihe-Monkeys, Rats, Birds, Mice.
The reporter followed Mr.. Reiche into q
little back office, where fifteen or twenty
bullfnches were ranged in tiny wooden
cages against the wall. Mr. Reiche drew
two chairs up to a big window which
opened on a small yard rooted in with
glass like dollhouse. The reporter sat
down in one chair and Mr. Reiche took
the other. care you a good shots" the
latter asked as he reached back to his
desk and produced small 20 caliber par
lor rifle.
81 was once connected with a paper
published in Tombstone, A. t." began
the reporter, "and"-
"Say no more; that'n do" broke in Mr..
Reiche. "But asked you for a very
good reason. You see. don't mind your
shooting all the rats you want, but I
would rather you would confine yourself
to them"
"But where are the ratsf'
"Out in the yard. Keep quiet and
they'll show themselves.
The reporter kept quiet and looked out
into the yard. It was not like any back
yard he had ever seen before. On one
side of it were piled number of wooden
boxes with iron bars in front of them.
The boxes were ranged against the fence
in long rows one above the other. In them
were about two dozen monkeys Of various
breeds, a six months old mountain lion,
several jackals, few badgers, q porcu-
pine, three white cockatoos and any num-
Der OF rose colored ones, boa constructor.
two large balloons, a nest of feathery
squirrels, some swans and an antelope.
Scattered In the cages and on the ground
were pieces of bread, bits of crackers, ker-
nels of corn and bird seed, which the well
fed and careless animals had wasted. This
food is what attracts the rats and mice,
and at night great numbers of them
scamper about the place and wax fatter
and .fatter at Mr.. Reiche's expense.
Unjust have been an off day for rats,
however, for only seven made their ap-
pearance during the half hour which the
reporter put in trying to shoot them. It
was lots of fun, though, and every animal
in the place seemed to enjoy it. When
ever the little rifle would crack like whip
and puff of white smoke would announce
the death Of rat all the monkeys would
chatter and express their approval by un-
mistakable signs.
The rats were all big fellows and as fat
as a prison warden. Mr.. Reiche says
they are very fierce and cause him much
trouble "One of them nearly killed the
little lion the other night, +" he said. "The
lion has been in the habit of killing all
the rats that came within its reach. It
grabs them by the back the same as ter
rier does and shakes the life out of them
in jiffy. It missed its hold the other
night, though, and the rat managed to
bite it in the nose. When the men came
here in the morning they found the lion
lying half dead from the loss of blood and
it has not fully recovered yet I bathed
the wound with alum water and fed the
sick beast on live pigeons to tempt its ap-
petite 1t is now much better"
'Will the monkeys kill rats?'' -
''No; the monkeys pay no attention to
them at all. think they are afraid of
them. All the cat animals kill rats when
ever they get a chance, and the cockatOos
and swans are great rat slayers. The boa
constructor never gets q chance to show
what he can do, as the rats avoid his cage
as If by instinct"
"Don't the rats ess good many Of
your small birds?''
'sThey can't get the chance, az have
had all the rooms lined with tin to keep
them out. Sometimes, however, they
sneak in during the day, when the doors
are open, and at night kin q lot Of cana
ries or other small birds. The store is
overrun with mice, but there is so much
seed scattered about that they DONE
bother the birds at all. II a bird is sick
and dies during the night the mice will
eat it, but they never attack live one.
There is too much other food lying around
which they like better"
The rat hunt kept up until it was too
dark to see to shoot any more and the
record stood six dead rats to seven shots.
Mr.. Reiche has killed as many as fifteen
big rats With bis little rifle in an hour and