Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1889-03-14

an infant. There were, fortunately. plenty
OF books on board-at least a hundred of
them being fction-and I spent much of
my time in reading, and studying, as well
as 1 could with the means at my disposal,
the theory of navigation. Then I wrote up
| the log-boOk, or rather, made an entry in it
every day, for there was very little to set
down. Had / not done so 1 should have
lost count Of time, so like was one day to
another. Now and then 1 went into the
engine-room, and by getting up steam,
starting and stopping the engine, I famil-
iarized myself with its working. After
awhile. | became fairly expert engineer,
and had our coal bunkers not been SO
nearly empty, I should have shipped the
screw and steamed in the direction whittier
I thought lay the nearest land.
Bolsover pottered about the ship, mend
ed sails. spliced ropes, washed the decks,
smoked, and slept; yet he got very weary,
and one day proposed that, by way of di-
version, we should make war on the rats.
1 asked how he would do it, seeing that we
had neither cats, traps, dogs, nor ferrets.
Il will make the beggars drown them
Selves" he said.
And then he disclosed his plan. Rats,
he explained, cannot live without water,
many of them about the water-tanks, where
they slaked their thirst by licking up the
drippings and droppings. But as there
was so much less water drawn than form
erly, there were fewer drippings, and she
rats being for that reason extremely dry,
water would make a splendid bait. All
that was necessary would be to take buck
cts, put few inches of water at the bot
tonl--miXed with molasses to prevent them
from jumping Out-fX long strips of wood
on the sides, so balanced that when the
rats ran along them to get at the water
they would fall into the buckets.
every WE'LL" said; "try it. But In my
opinion the less you have to do with the
rats the better. If they have not got the
fever-I wish they had-they can give it."
''Oh, L have no fear. shall not take the
fever. I never thought should. Besides,
that storm must have blown it all out of
the Ship
So Tom arranged his buckets, put them
down in the hold near the water-tanks,
and awaited the result with great expecta-
lions.
An hour later he came up in great glee,
bringing one of his buckets.
'Look hereP' he exclaimed. "And there's
more in the Others"
In the bottom of the bucket was with
ing mass of rats The water had not been
deep enough to drown all of them, and the
survivors, entangled in the molasses, were
fighting desperately over the bodies Of their
comrades.
'Poor wretchesp' I said. PUT them out
Of their misery, Tomi'
Poor wretches! Put them out of their
miseryl would rather put them into a
| hit Tcn't If than nc did oil thp mis-
chief But here goes! I'll chuck them
into the water and let the sharks catch 'em
| if they can. They'll be well met"
And with that Tom went to the taffrail,
| and turned the bucket upside-down, where
upon all the rats, dead and alive-all save
one fierce-looking. gray-Whiskered vet
eran, wnlcn conrived to cling to the side
fell pell-mel into the sea.
'Get out, you big devilp' said the boat
swain, Selling it by the tail.
But instead of getting out, the rat twist
ed round and fixed it's long, sharp teeth
into its captor's thumb. Tom dropped the
bucket like hot potato, and catching the
creature by the neck, choked it off, and
sent it spinning.
"By -, it hurtsP' he exclaimed, pop
ping the wounded thumb into his mouth.
you had better go and battle it with hot
water" said. "Rat-bites are nasty things
sometimes"
ST don't think it's worth while. I'll put
bit of pitch on it. It's the best plaster l
know. never thought a rat could bite so
keen. That gray-whiskered beggar's teeth
were like pins and needles"
The incident made the boatswain more
inveterate against the rats than ever. He
converted all the buckets in the ship into
traps, and by sunset he had caught several
dozens. He took care, however, before
throwing them overheard, to see that they
were properly drowned, and even then he
handled the bucket in such a way as to
prevent any possibility of second bite.
But the rats, though they persisted, had
their revenge. The next morning Bolso-
yer was very i'll. The thumb was inf1amed
and exceedingly painful, and he had all
the appearance of sickening for yellow few
er. was seriously alarmed for, despite
his craze about the ''Santa Anna" old
Tom was thorough seaman and very
good fellow. You cannot be thrown much
with man lat any rate, l cannoD without
getting to like him-unless he is absolute
ly repulsive-and I had got to like the
boatswain. Besides, what would become
of me if l should be left alone on board a
my whereabouts, only just able to steer,
and hardly knowing one sail from another7
| If it were possible to keep old Tom alive,
meant to do it, although, judging by my
recent experience, the odds against his re-
covery were hundreds to one. On the 9TH
er hand, the very fact that he had remained
so long invulnerable showed that he pos
sessed great resisting power, and rendered
it probable that he would make tougher
| fight for his life than the others had done.
The first thing was to get my patient to
keep his bed which for time he obstin-
ately refused to do. To confess that he
was i'll would not only have touched his
pride and made his boastings look rather
ridiculous, but would have gone far to
falsify his predictions. So he pretended
that his illness was mere passing indis-
position-"a bit of a headache"-made
light of his swollen thumb, and insisted on
getting up and helping to prepare break
fast.
i But the strongest will cannot long bear
up under severe local pain and the all-per-
yading agOnies of fever, ana IL was not long
before Bolsoyer confessed himself beaten,
and took to his bed.
ST never thought l should be ILL.," he
murmured, "but it won't be much. Ishan
be well in a day or two, l know | shall.
| You were right, Mr.. Erie; shouldn't have
meddled with them rats-hang 'em! ]
don't care how soon we get out Of this ship
There's q curse on her; that's what II Is
There's a curse on her."
Tom must have been very bad to own