The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1892-12-10
Fight With a Wharf Rat.

Wharf rats are. as you may or may not know.
much larger than the ordinary rat, and lately
saw an enormous one that had been killed under
peculiar and exciting circumstances, says
HGTDer's Young PEOPLE.
A young man who lives in a fat in Boston
tuily three miles from the nearest wharf, was
standing before the basin in his bathroom
washing his hands, when he heard a noise as of
something moving around in the little closet
under the basin. STOPPING over. he opened the
door, when out jumped an immense rat. Il
was so large that the gentlem an at first thought
u was cat, the light in the bathroom be- ng
dim. The rat jumped into the bath tub. and
the gentleman climbed upon the marble slab
around the wash bowl, and called for his mother
TO bring him weapon OF some kind-''to kill
the biggest rat in Boston," he said.
FINALLY his mother brought him an iron
carpet stretcher with q handle six feet long
She opened the door just far enough to thrust
10 the weapon, after being assured that the rat
was still in the tub
And then the fun began" said my friend
Wnen he told me the story. 1.-THE moment
picked up the Carpet-stretcher the rat was on
the defensive. 1t was getting dark in the bath
room, and lighted the gas, and the instant
ala 30 the rat gave little squeal and jumped
upon the edge OF the tub. / struck at him. but
missed him, and he seized the handle of my
weapon and chung TO it with bis teeth until
could hardly shake him of When did shake
MIN on he jumped for me. was still on the
marble slab, and when he landed on it jumped
into the tub. When l struck at him the second
time he lodged the blow and made for me
again, squealtng as loud as young pig didn't
suppose that anything in the sbApe of rat
could make such noise. The families living
in the flats above and below ours heard him dis
tlnctly, and came to ask what 1t all meant.
Quite crowd collected at the bath room door
but warned them not to open the door.
The rat and changed places three times
before could hit him, and then his rage was
something terrible He squealed louder than
ever, and buried his teeth in the handle of my
weapon. ! shook him off, and he tried to Jump
up to where l was, but he fell short Il was
wonderful how he lodged my blows, and mar
rowly escaped being bitten three or four times.
Finally pinned him down in a corner with the
iron teeth OF the carpet-stretcher, holding him
so he could not escape, but he fought and strug-
gIed and squealed just as long as he could, and
he died with his teeth fastened in the handle of
my weapon.
The bath room presented a CORY appearance.
There was blood everywhere. The rat was al
marks of age"
But how did he ever get into the closet under
the basin?" asked
That mystery will never be cleared up in
Iul, was the reply. There was big hole in
the floor around the escape pipe of the basin in
the closet, and he had evidently made his debut
through that hole think he must have come
from the wharf through the sewer pipes, but
just how he brought up in the closet don't
know. do know that he was there and on the
"arpath, and more formidable foe 1 never
want 20 encounter within the narrow limits of a
bath room"