Warren sheaf. [volume] (Warren, Marshall County, Minn.) 1880-current, 1893-03-16

handle the biggest and most vicious
mine rats just as he pleases without
being bitten. No one else in the mine
can do it, and the miners and mule
drivers assert that Jc'hnny has mys-
FERROUS power over the four-legged
pests Of the mine. Johnny never hurts
or kills rat, although every other
laborer in the mine Stays every rat he
gets chance to, and the foreman of
the mule barn sets all sorts of traps
for the rats, and keeps an army OF cats
to prey on them. 1t is impossible to
eXterminate the mine rats, and Johnny
Roche says he is glad of it, because he
would be lonesome if all the rats were
killed The rats get into the mine in
bales of hay for the mules and by
backing down the tim bcrs of the shaft.
They arrive and breed faster than the
men and cats can kill them. and
Johnny is cheerful whenever a new
hatch comes.
man fond of oddities found out the
other day when he was lowered into
the mine that Johnny Roche's way of
catching rats with his bare hands was
very interesting. AS soon as there
was an interval between trips Johnny
placed his lamp on cla1nlz Of coal at
the side of the ghng:way and crawled
on his hands and knees into a chamber
few feet away. In a minute or so a
big gray rat hoped along the top of
the COB, between Johnny and the
light, and the next instant Johnny's
right hand shot out and caught the rat
by the back of the neck. He brought
the rat ont to the lamp to let the
visitor see it and then he looked in it's
mouth, smoothed its fur and held it up
by the tail. A trip of cars was COM
ing, and Johnny slipped the rat into
his coat pocket, unlocked the link,
hooked another, took the rat out, tied
a strand of lamp wick loosely around
its neck and drove it back and forth in
the dim light. When the lad heard
the next trip rum bling through the
mine toward him he fastened the wick
to prop and attended to his Duties
The rat didn't offer to yank away or
to bite the wick in two, but it hopped
about a little and then it sat upon its
hind quarters. gazed at Johnny and
squealed as though it wanted him to
come and fondle it.
'Tll catch another rat now and
harness 1t with this one.'' said the boy,
and again he crept into the recess and
faced the lamp. The rat danced
around the prop, but didn't break
loose, and just before the next trip
came Johnny nabbed another big rat
and put it in his pocket. AS soon as
the trip was gone Johnny sat down on
a tie and let the second rat run over his
lap without touching it. The rat might
have jumped away, but it seemed to be
under spell, and when it had capered
across the boys legs few times it
crawled into his coat and snuxgled up
as if it was going to take nap. Pretty
soon Johnny took the rat out and
stroked it and showed its teeth to the
visitor. Then he held it up by the tail,
and it curled up and stuck its nose be-
tween the lads thumb and finger.
Meanwhile the other rat was squeal-
ing for Johnny to come and take it,
and the young rat tanner got some
more strands, hitched the two together
and drove them up and down the track
''Now I'll hide these rats in nv coat
and catch two more," said the boy.
Another trip came just then, and when
Johnny had unlocked it, he pulled off
his coat, bundled the rats up in it and
crawied in the hole. He had to come
out three times to attend to the cars
before he got the next rat, but in TWEEN
ly minutes he caught another and
hitched them together as before. While
he was making them perform large
black and white tom cat appeared and
went to cycling the lively rats. Johnny
tied his little team to the prop when he
heard the cars, and tho tom cat sat on