The Ohio Democrat. (Logan, O. [Ohio]) 1886-1906, 1892-04-09
woNDERfUL TRAINED RArs.
shey "Plsy Cars" aud Commit suIcid,
Now auu q Han

|
| Now and Then.
1t appears that at the Folies Berperes
there is n Russian rat tanner who is
now giving funny exhibition. lie has
lat rats, lean rats, black rats, white
rats, big rats, and, strangest of all, lit
tie rats. Everybody has seen a big rat,
but for little rat it is necessary to no
TO the Folies Bergeres.
~ found Douroff, the rat tamer," SAYS
The Temps reporter, ''oversee1ng the
work of laying miniature railroad,
yircular in form In a sort OF Franco
Russian gibberish he was scoldinp the
worlxmen who were handling a little
train formed of a locomotive, three
wagons and a baggage van. When this
was done little wooden station house
was brought out and put in position.
All along the line there were posts for
switchmen and signals Then when all
was ready a cage full of rats was car
ried behind the scene.
"Douruf clapped his hands. Tmme~
iiately the rats came out and jumped
upon the platform of the station. Half
a dozen fat fellows climbed into tho
first class carriage and sat there like
aldermen. About half dozen white.
rats with their heads and necl1s dyed
black so that they looked as if they
wore cioaks, got into the second class;
and ragged-looliing set of bohemian
and artistic rats took the third class.
Upon the platform great fat fellow,
the boss station master, or chet dc gdre,
as the French call that official, walked
pompously mp and down and superin-
tended the whole business, paying spe-
cial attention to band of white
chaps that were handling the
freight These employees took in
their teeth the handles of the little
trunks and carefully placed them in
the van. a whistle is heard and then
the engineer takes his position. An
other chap gets into the lookout, and
another takes up his position in the
pointsman's box There is another
whistle. The locomotive puffs and the
train starts. On the top of the disk
gray rat, after climbing up the little
iron ladder, looks down upon the NOV
ing train, Everybody laughs
"Tts comical, isn't it?' said Douroff
to the reporter And doubtless you
think it wonderful: and yet the whole
thing is done with the greatest sim
plicity. Except the education of my
little baggage men, the thing was ac-
complished without the least difficulty.
This is the way l managed it: At their
breakfast hoar I placed the black rats
on the platform in front of the first
class carriage, in which their bread and
water was prepared for them. did the
and third class, as well as for the engi-'
necr, the switchman, the lookout and
the baggagemen. They all got their
food in their proper places At first l
trained each group separately, and lit
tie by little the habit grew upon them
until let them all out as once. Each
one took his place without the least
hesitation. AS for the locomotive it is
unnecessary TO say that that is not run
by the engineer. 1t goes by sort of
clocllwork, and that's the way the trick
is done.
'Dourof then told the reporter the
difficulties he had to keep his rats from
getting frightened at the electric lights
on the stage; and while he was talking
the signal rat fell down from his high
post. Douroff swore. There goes an
other loss.' said he. "A fall like that is
death to n rat that is not in the full
bloom of youth. He won't die right
away; he will linger a week, perhaps
two, but he is bound to die or go mad.
If he gets crazy the poor little devil
will commit suicide
'''Suicide"
"Why yes, you may laugh as much as
choose but can tell you that suicide
is quite common among rats. l don't
believe there is creature in the world
more impressionable or of tempera-
ment more inclined to melancholy or
with a nervous system more fragile
than a rat, Would you believe that ont
of my $50 pets l have always about
thirty on the sick list? A degree, more
or less, of heat or cold in their cage
knocks ont eight or ten. Pneumonia
finishes one of them in fOrty-eight
hours, But thatis nothing. The great
thing is to see to their amusement II l
did not give them their freedom every
second day, and if did not let them
out of their cage for a couple of hours
every day and allow them full liberty to
scamper about in an enclosed place, |
would lose ne-half of them in eight DAYS.
A first they would become melancholy,
and at the end of three days they would
all be crazy rats Even with all my
care some of them still go mad. You
should see a mad rat run amuclS among
the rest. Then the others, exasperated
at his outrageous conduct, attack him
furiously, and soon finish him. Some
rats, as I told you, commit suicide
They refuse all kind of food. No
amount of coaxing and petting can
cheer them when in the melancholy
mood. They refuse to eat until they
die"
"'Do you think that this fellow that
fell down, threw himself down inten-
tionally?'
"'That is my belief said Douroff I
would swear to it, Then the rat
trainer began to caress the wounded
rat. 'Mouchla, my poor little Mouch-
ka,' he murmured. You want to leave
your old master? All, bad Mouchsap >"
Paris Temps
Education in Australia.
A few years ago Matthew Arnold,
writing on the subject of the future of
education in Australia, prophesied that