The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1892-06-05
RATS AND REACHES.
-ou ADMIRAL KIMBERLY GOT
RID OF THE PESTS.

Ll7C
rbev Resorted To-Smoke Was Used
vary Effectively to Get Rid of the
n.dants-Cats of the ship Suffocated
TOO.
Kimberly in Pittsburo Dispatch.
:. was my first cruise and many years
..o when was boy, ayoung MILDLY, that
% 90 ,bin served aboard sailed from the
sood old Boston navy yard on three years.
s.r;,a. in those days it was the custom for
a. flagship Of the African station to spend
S.f of her cruise on the African coast and
-Iiocant islands, and the other half up the
Mediterranean.
The shin was almost new, having only
..sde a previous cruise, and was considered
:, that time one of the finest vessels Of her
80 in the navy, if not in the world. The
SIstory of the ship from the day she was
i.1ncbed has fully proved this fact, as she
;s in commission this day, and doing good
n.rvice after lapse of forty-three years.
Reaching the station, we were very COM
tortable on our good new ship, excepting
no for two nuisances that required a great
Issl Of ingenuity TO overcome; one was
oockroaches, the other rats. No ship could
~ casner than she was, but the heat Of the
climate was favorable for the rapid in
craase of the reaches, and our never going
siongside of a wharf or a pier prevented
snv loss Of the rats by emigration; SO they
4 hoth thrived and increased.
MAKING THE BOYS HUNT REACHES.
IN our distant station no insecticides nor
\ trough on rats could be obtained. Even
A Wthev could have been procured, we could
not have used them, because the rats and
4 coaches would have died in the ceilings and
bstween the timbers. and rendered her un-
Iohsbltahle. So something else had to be
\ dome 70 abate the nuisance. After a great
dssl OF thought and consideration on the
mart Of our first lieutenant, the following
4 Nan was determined on:
We had on board about eight or ten
bright messenger boys. AS was the GUS
n tom of the service, they were rigidly in
spected every morning watch, with their
trousers rolled up to their knees, their frock
seeves to their elbows, and their collars
open and thrown back, all toeing a seam
with their caps in their hands. This in
spection was held by the officer Of the deck
and the master at arms, called by the crew
n Jimmy Legs"
One fine morning it was announced to
these messenger boys that hereafter each
one was to muster at the morning lnspec-
ton with twenty-five reaches, and that they
H had pernission to visit and search any part
Of the ship to obtain their quota; in case of
4 failure to produce the proper plumber, the
delinquent unless some good reason was
eiyenJ was TO receive as many strokes OF q
rattan as he was short Of the number Of
reaches required.
Operations were to commence at once.
The next morning the counting took place
under the supervision Of Jimmy Legs.
Each boy, after counting, was found to
have his pr 0per number Of reaches, After
Inspection they were marched to the gang
way and threw their collection into the sea.
This they did every morning for long
time.
HOW THEY ESCAPED A FLoGGING.
Finally it became hard matter to muster
with 25 bugs every morning. Consequently
the number required was reduced to 20;
after another lapse Of time to Is; then to
TO- then to 5, and finally to 3 apiece. But
long before this latter number was reached
the boys resorted to all sorts Of devices to
get their complement of roaches-for they
well knew the penalty hanging over them.
To avoid punishment and preserve their
game each one provided himself with an
empty mustard bottle and cork, and slung it
around his neck inside of his shirt, and every
time he caught a roach he bottled it. At
the inspections the boys counted out their
quota from the bottles, which were re-
corked and returned to their bosoms with
what was left over, to be ready for the next
call.
OF course, by the time the complement
required as reduced to three reaches they
had very hard work to keep their number
up. So they resorted TO device that pros
pered for some time before 1t was discovered.
1t was this: When they were marched to
the gangway to throw their bugs into the
sea, by turn of the wrist they threw them
into the main chains; and when the master
at arms dismissed them they quietly, when
unobserved, went into the chains and picked
up and returned TO their bottles all of the
reaches that had lodged there, and this pick
ing was honorably divided among the squad
for the next mornings count. This opera
ton, being dangerous and liable TO bring
detection and punishment, was taken in
turn by the boys. After this had been going
on for some time it was discovered and
stopped.
Kidding A STRANGE CRAFT OF PESTS.
However, they resorted to another de-
vice. 1t was customary in port on Sunday
afternoon to allow visiting parties to go
about among the ships that might be at
anchor in the harbor. 80 one afternoon
In the harbor of Porto Praya our boys were
allowed to pay visit to one Of the vessels,
atop sail schooner and quite q celebrated
vessel in her day; at this time she was COM
manded by an old lieutenant who after
ward became an admiral and lost his life
on the Asiatic station he commanded at the
time
The officer the next day made visit TO
cur ship, and calling on our grand first huff
ne said: We'll, T.. you have lot of the
strangest boys in your ship that l ever saw
yesterday afternoon they came on board Of
my vessel, and as soon as they went forward
they commenced catching reaches and put
ting them in bottles which they had in their
shirt bosoms; they went through the ship,
over and under the boom covers hammock
MEETINGS, galley, berth deck, mess chests and
eeVerywherel They were not still a minute
Such squabbling and striving for reaches
never saw What does it all meanF
The matter was satisfactorily explained
70 hlm And the fact became now apparent
mat reaches in our ship had almost disap-
peared as only occasionally one would be
observed, when its fate was sealed on sight.
For during the remainder of our cruise
S1ose boys had become SO habituated and
export at catching them that never after
Nstd did bug escape, and to all intents
anu purposes the ship was considered free
from them.
THE REACHES ATE FINGER NAILS.
NO one not shut up in a ship with these
rerlnln can conceive what a great nuisance
'nese reaches were. They would destroy
brushes, shoes, binding Of books, eat the toe
Iau niger nails of persons sleeping down TO
.ue quick, and would at times live in such
nuhperS and emit such a pungent and pene-
ua1lng odor as to drive the occupants of
.ne state rooms out. At the end of the cruise
tue DOYB waFa admitted kO ba ha