The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1894-07-27
THE REPTILEAND THERATS
4 Remarkable Battle Between Snake
and a Band Of Rodents.

Rats Draw the Color Line-How They
Jumped on His Snakeship Like the
A R. U. on a Pullman Train-Four
Feet of Reptile and Sixteen Rats
Mix UP in Battle Royal to a Finish.
The Row for the Spells.
From the san Francisco Examiner.
II is not unpleasant to have the rats If
you can keep them under control. There
is a young man by the name of Charles
Quincy Brown living on Bush street who
has about fifty Of the rascals who recog-
nize him aud accept his general style Of
| handling them as all right.
They are neither the common black rat
nor the uncommon white rat, but a com
bination of both, with none of the pecu-
liarities of either. In fact they are sep
arate and distinct family with good an
cestral record and a close resem blanca to
each other.
The heads and shoulders are black or
mouse colored, and the hind quarters,
with the exception Of gray streak down
the back, are a delicate cream white. The
eyes are black, accompanied by long,
glossy whiskers of the same hue. They
swarm up and down the immediate person
of Mr. Brown S father, who. during the
absence of his son on a hunting trip, is
now holding down the important position
of lord high keeper of the rats. Recently
a stranger visited the rodent menagerie
and was shown through by Brown pere,
W no is machinist and keeps the little
animals in his workshop where, amid the
buzzing of wheels and the whirr of belts,
they romp around and make themselves at
home.
you will see,' said Mr. Brown, walk
ing over to a three-storied case against
the wall, that these rats know men as
well as anybody, and also that control
them by the simple motion Of my hand"
He opened a small door in the side of the
lower cage, and in an instant some fifteen
or twenty black qulvering, sensitive
noses were thrust into the aperture Tiny
black feet rested on the edge, and pres
emily the whole rabble climbed out ran
up his arm and began a game of tag
around his coat collar. Plaintiff little
squeaks could be heard occasionally as
they got more boisterOus and inquisitive.
Into his pockets and up his coal sleeves
they gamboled, frequently falling off,
only TO catch on again lower down. Every
one of them were marked alike, with
the exception of one little fellow, 2
months old, who was ,tsnow-white 'and
had pink eyes.
This one, said the keeper, holding
out his finger for the albino to run up, lis
the freak of the family, but is properly
the only one whose color does not show
the cross in breeding. The parents OF
the entire tribe are still living, and are
said to have sprung from a pure white
rat and pure black. My son brought
them home about a year and half ago,
and after some lengthy discussions as to
their value as pets, ] permitted him to
keep them in the shop. Since that time,
from the single pair, nearly 100 have
been bred and interbred. There is old
Topsy, the mother, and here is the sire,
Brigham Young"
Here, Brigham, Here, Topsy," called
Mr.. Brown, and the two old rodents came
bouncing along the work bench toward
| him. He gathered them up and passed
| them around. Both were gentle and ap-
| parently used TO being discussed, show
! ing no discomfort at the presence Of
| strangers.
Now III tell you the reason they are
all stub-tailed," remarked Mr.. Brown,
observing a look Of surprise in the visit
! Ors face, who requested information on
! the absence of that point, 'as a rule
they grow to a great length, say six
| inches, and accumulate considerable dirt
| dragging around in the tools and ma
chinery. This dirt, when in the cage
throwing their tails around each other,
R6lS IN Ju6 eyes Oh inc youngsters anu
makes them sore When my son first got
them he had considerable trouble on that
| account, and found that the only way to
| prevent IL was to cut the member off
| about half an inch from the body. The
| operation is performed when they are
| about three weeks old, and does not pain,
| owing to the fact that the tan is soft, and
| has not, at that period formed into bone. ~
While the older rates were racing
around the room making friends with the
| visitors Mr.. Brown got his hat full of
young ones from three weeks to two
IN onths old and set them down in chair
| No sooner had he done this when Topsy
| climbed into the hat and showed by signs
! and sharp low squeaks that she was
! greatly agitated
! "She has raised most all these rats
! herself, having taken them from deserted
| filters from time to time. See this little
| fellow with his eyes still closed. Well,
| he was the last of litter of nine, the
rest having been killed and eaten by the
males"
rs infanticide general among the male
raJsp'
"Oh, yes, invariably. Rabbits, chip
munks, squirrels-in fact most all the
male rodents-will do IL before the eyes
of their young are opened unless the
mother or some good Samaritan comes
| along and takes charge. | always sepa-
| rate the llJtle tellOWS II i see Them before
the male does, but owing to the fact that
we have so many here sometimes | over
look them, and the result is much more
rapid than rough on rats or poisoned
cheese ever dared be-
Another thing about these half-breeds
is the way they draw the color line. For
instance, the other day Charlie turned
about dozen loose in the hall where
a big black rat was sporting under
! the woOdbox. They ran around q
while and finally spied him. In
stantly the whole band made for the
corner where he had taken refuge
and pounced upon him like mob OF
strikers on a Pullman car. He kicked
and squealed, but in less than a minute
theyhad scattered his fur all over the
place and pounded the life out of him.
believe two of them can whip any house
rat that ever lived They are the most
savage creatures when mad ever saw.
81 have gopher snake out here in a
box and I've got a mind to see how they
! will handle him. Wait a minute" ana
| Mr.. Brown left the shop, returning
shortly with a snake some three feet
long aud nearly an inch in diameter He
| got all the largest rats up on the bench
/ again, and clearing space some six feet
/ square, around which were piled OBJ
structions Of various xmas, he dropped
| the serpent IN the center.
1t raised It's head, glared around for an
instant coiled and was ready to fight