The Dickinson press. (Dickinson, Stark County, D.T. [i.e. N.D.]) 1883-1927, 1889-06-29
RATS FOR A NICKEL EACH.
A BUSINESS THAT MAY BE PROFIT
ABLE BUT NOT POPULAR.


Catching Rodents Tor the NIarket-Pcoplo
Who Have Rat Dogs lsuy Thcm-How
the Catclcrs Go About It-Talk with
One in tho Business.
Rats seem to be very plentiful when your
house is infested with them, but when you
each for them, you find that they arc scarce
enough" said dealer in ferrets and other
small animals capable of hunting or being
stock in cellar in Harlem. II have only
eleven rats on hand ut present, and one of
them has sore throat-a common disease
order for fifty, to he delivered i'll Jersey City
the day after tomorrow, is more than can
tell
What do want them fora Why, to sell
them to the owners of rafting dogs, of course.
generally dispose of only half n dozen or so
ut time, to some one who merely wants to
test his terriers powers, or to treat him to
little private exercise, but when rafting
match, as the sport is called, is to como of,
often receive an order for couple of hum
for Til opponent dog, and they all wont tho
healthiest, strongest and most vicious ami
mails they can get. 1t is not easy to supply
them, and like to get notice about fort
night in advance. so that | can secure tho
services of half dozen rat catchcrs.
"As the sport of rafting grows more popu.
lar i'll and around New York, the trade of
rat catching is increasing AT present there
nj n ,l,
the city, They never do any other business
and they arc not very Industrious at the queer
one they have chosen. You see, it is not an
occupation calculated to draw out the high
est attributes and strongest forces of Il mans
nature, and those engaged i'll it soon fall into
rat like habits of their own. don't know
whether ii is mere Imagination on my part
or not, but it certainly seems to me that their
faces gradually assume the contour of tho
rats countenuncc. When they are not al
work they are drunk sometimes, too, they are
drunk when they are working, and they often
are horribly bitten. Rats fangs are said to
bc poisonous, but never knew of any harm
beyon! the pain. and, perhaps, Il little in
ilammation, to follow IL bite. Perhaps the
alcohol in the system Of the catcllcrs acts us
an an,idolc as ii does in the case of u wound
inflicted hy snake
The trade might bc made fairly rcm,lrcr
alive if it was pursued with more stcudincss
There are two distinct profits in it. The
catcher, ii he should be u sober, respectable
booking man, whom persons would not fear
to leave alone nt night i'll their houses or
stores or stables, could always command II
good fee from those who desired to free their
premises of rats, and you can readily imag
,.,f
Then there is no trouble found in selling the
animals caught The demand for them is in
variubly greater than the supply, and good
prices are obtained for them
Very few rat catchrrs have traps. Some
use an instrument like II lons, slender pair of
tongs, while others wear gloves, and trust
entirely TO their hands Their mode of work
ing is the simplest thing in the world They
sit down on the floor, which is strcwn with
some food that rats like They place near
them II saucer of water Rats seem to he
tormcnted will a perpetual thirst. and every
one of them will take a drink before hc re-
turns to his hole. While he is drinking is the
catcher's opportunity. You may have no
ticed, when you have been watching n wild
rat, that 50 long us you do not stir the brute
will show no terror Frequently he will up
proach close to your feet, for he cannot
recognize life in motionlcss body, but the
instant you move, DO it in ever so slight dc
gree, he vanishcs like dream The catcher
is us still as death until his victim is within Il
fcw inches of him, either with his head
turned away, or so occupied in drinking as
to See nothing but the water
Then :he tonss, or the glovcd hand, silently
and steal,hily descend, and the rat is lifted
from tho floor and dropped into II bag be
tween tho catch"r's knees Ii hc squc;,ls III
his fellows disappear as though the earth has
| swallowed them, as indeed it has. But, how
ever quickly the capture may be made on,
or other of tho rats in tho room is tolrr;.bly
sure to sec it and to give the alarm. Then
the catcher must begin n new vigil. He never
has long to wait, however. A rat must ac;u
ally view or hear danger to detect it, He is
utterly lnsuspicions, repeated warnings arc
thrown away upon him, and nothing that
does not appeal directly to his senses cal
affect him in the least. If no noise is mad,
he comes out of his hole in few minutes te
tempt his fate again. a catcher could, and
sometimes does get n hundred OF u hundred
and fifty rats and clear tho premises of The
pests in q single night,
"ln London, where rafting is much more
in vogue than it is hero, some Of the fancy
tried to breed rats. They succeeded to a Ger
tain extent, and produced great number
But they we're no good. Being in fact do
nestle animals, they we're not much afraid Of
the terriers, and the dogs, as q consequence
killed them in a tardy half hearted way that
,;ouil lave insured their defeat against tme
oi rivals in pit. a big rat is not Away:
The best He is apt to be slow and to die
without a Struggle The large fat sewer raj
is generally overfcd and can neither run nor
fight. A medium sized animal, thin and
hungry, is probably the best. When he is
cormcrcd he will often spring ct the terrier
s:ip him Under tho lower jaw, out Of rcacl
Of his teeth, and hold ON for dear life II
the dog knows his business Ec will waste nc
time in trying to scrare him off with his
paws He will go straight on with his work
killing the other rats in the pit until the ono
that is clinging to his chin gets tired and
drops off, wien he will not be likely to have
another chance
Some people amuse themselves by hunt
ing rats with ferrcts There is not much
sport in that A rat will do all he knows tc
sare himself when a dog is pittcd against
him, but wien he sees Il ferret he feels that
his doom las found him, and he bows to bis
destiny y rat never niaieS an ellort to cS'
cape wien his small natural destroyer ap
proaclcs. He covers ON the floor and does
not move when tie ferret takes him by the
throat and proceeds to suck the blood out Of
his body All, here's Jack. ! hope he has
the rest Of the Jersey City order"
a souchy, frowsy, lame young man en-
tered the cellar His face seemed to support
the dealers theory, for it bore the impress Of
lis trade and some Likeness TO his captured
victims He was catcher, and he carried
the rats required about Lis person. He drew
several from his pockets, and many more
from the interior Of his vest, his cap, and oil
sorts of odd places about his clothing. They
seemed to be too broken down in spirits 10
care what became Of them, but the dealer
said they would pull themselves together as
soon as they saw black and tan or a rough
coated terrier. He dropped them into a lar
rel, ard gave the young man Sl.9j. with
wnic! he liuped away to liquor saloon
| across the sircct.-Ncw York Sun.
\ great many scientific men have cdcscribed
in stately phrase the characteristic difference:
between men ard women. Mrs. Frank Leslie