St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1888-02-11
THRILLING ADVENTURE.
Edward Dutfy's Fierce Conflict With
Rapacious Rats In Kansas City.
HIS DESPERATE SITUATION.
Luckily, His Lamp Was Overturned,
and Moment Later He Was
~ Free From Danger.

Kansas City, says the Mirror, 1t was
not only thrilling, but was so intensely
dangerous that one man nearly lost his
life, and escaped only after the most
terrible suffering, although the entire
experience was crowded into the space
of a minute.
1T is the custom of the Ninth Street
Gable company, and, in fact, Ct all the
cable companies, to send men into the
c0nduits after the cable has been STOP
ped at night, to oil the wheels OF pull
hys oyer which the cable runs. The
grease used for this purpose is of the
consistency of tall0w. of which it is
largely composed. Beeswax is another
constituent of the ''dOpe," as the men
call the material. The presence of this
dope attracts to the conduit large
numbers of rats, which feed upon it.
The rodents are larger than ordinary
house rats and are possessed of greater
strength and courage.
DUFFY AND HIS DOPE.
One morning Edward Duffy, one of
the dope men, entered the conduit at
the opening just west of Walnut street.
He carried with him a bucket of dope,
and an ordinary railroad lamp. Duffy
was dressed in suit of yellow oil cloth,
such as butchers wear when at work in
the large packing-houseS. A slight rain
was falling, and a stream of muddy
water was running through the bottom
of the conduit. When duffy entered the
opening lie left a companion, Nc
Mahon. on the outside. Duffy had
moved west to the second wheel, and
was applying the dope, when a sQueal-
ing noise in front OF him attracted his
attention. Through the gloom he could
see an army Of rats pressing Oh toward
of the light the foremost ones seemed
endeavoring to stop, but so great was
the pressure of the swarm behind that
the rats in the rear were piling pell-
nell over those in front.
Duffy had often encountered the rats
while at his work. but they never before
came so close to him. AS they ap-
preached he cried at the top of his voice
and gesticulated wildly in an effort to
brighten them, but they seemed i'm
PEELED by some greater fear, and on they
came. The man saw that he was in
danger, and thrust his hand under his
oilskin overallS in vain effort to reach
his pocket knife. The cramped position
made him awkward and in his hurry
threw him from his balance. The left
hand ON which he had been leaning,
slipped Oh the muddy ice of the conduit,
and he fell upon his face. In an in
slant, before he could rise. the vermin
were upon him and bore him down by
the very force of their accumulated
weight.
A MOMENT OF DANGER.
Duffy says that in the danger of his
position he seemed to think with a IA
pidity he never knew the human intel
leet was capable of. His whole life
passed in review before him. He soon
found himself arguing the reason of the
strange attack. He thought, as was the
case, that the water had filled up the
. conduit in the down grades and had
driven the rats up the incline. All of
these thoughts occurred to him in the
moment of his fall and the rush of the
rats. The next moment the teeth of the
rats called his energies to the defensive.
lie could feel them OH nearly every por-
& zion Of his body, but most cruelty upon
. his neck and hands. Duffy screamed
FOR Mcmahon, and fought with the des-
,peration of a dying man. -,
~ He clutched the rats in a grip that
crushed their bones like pulp, but the
few he thus disabled were nothing to the
host he had to meet. Fortunately for
i Duffy, Just as he-w about to sueeuHb,
the lamp he carried was overturned and
sthe globe broken. In a second the
; flames caught the dope and commune
Gated to the greasy coats of the rats.
With screams that were almost human
the rats fled in every direction, leaving
long StreakS OF fire behind them like the
trails Of living comets.
Mcmahon by this time reached a trap
near Duffy. and catching him by the
heels drew him. more dead than alive,
to the street. Restoratives were admin
istered, and the sinking man was carried
to Hipe's drug store, where his wounds
were dressed. An ambulance was then
called and Duffy was sent to his home.
The affair was kept as quiet as possible,
as it was feared Dutfy's experience
would deter others from engaging in the
work. The company is acting most
magnanimously in the matter, giving
the wounded man the best of care and
medical attention, and it is thought a
few days will again see him at his pos t