The Press., 1895-01-31
RAT CATCHER BILL.
AN ODD NEW YORK CHARACTER
 TALKS OF HIS PROFESSION.

The Business Has Gone to the Dogs. Meta.
 PhOrically Speaking-In the Good old
 Days Before the S. P. c. A.-The Pro.
 lessor Tells Something of His Methods.
 There are but six professional rat catchers ill New York city, and only two of these have regular places of busi- ness. The profession has gone to the dogs. This statement, while used as a metaphor, is also paradox. As mat ter of fact, the business has not gone to the dogs, but simply declined because the state laws against rat batting are very severe and arc rigidly enforced by the officers of the S. P. c. A.
 In the "good old days" there was money in rat catching. The professor, " armed with his lantern and tongs and accompanied by humble apprentice to 'hold the bag" would sally forth and make an arrangement with some restaurant or stable proprietor to relieve the premises of a portion of it's popula- tion of rodents at so much per rat, gen. erally "10 cents per. An hour later these same rats would figure in some Center street or Bowery pit as objects of the prowess of some fancy black and tan or rough haired terrier, the admir- ing owner of it cheerfully paying 90 cents each, or five for S1, for them
 William A. Heitler, who claims to be ''the originals Bill the Rat Catcher, " title gained in IS years service with Harry Jennings, whose memory is kept green among ''the fancy" said, in dis cussing the decadence of his profession:
 ''The business isn't what it used to be. Then we made our own terms and made money at both ends. Then we dealt with the people direct. Now we have got to deal with the agents. If a fiat is Overrun with rats, the tenant threatens to move. Then the agent writes on postal card, Bill, rid this flat of rats. That is mostly daylight work. go up to the flat and set my traps and keep a-setting them until there isn't anything to catch.
 Don't you use ferrets?"
 "Yes, I use ferrets ill my business, but not ill fiat houses. Don't you know that a rat killed by ferret is just the same as poisoned rat under the floor 
 good are they? Now, when we clean out fiat, why, then, we sell the lady some stuff to keep them out. It does the work all right, only it drives them into some other flat,
 'The real art in this here profession is night work. It ain't really what you would call artistic, but it is more like sleight of hand. In the daytime you go to the place and go all over the halls and nail pieces of tin over most of the holes. A house is to the rats just like a town is to people. There are avenues and alleys.
 ''NOw, just imagine that some night lot of policemen would start from the North river and the East river, simul- taneouslike, and chase everybody into Broadway, and then set 'em all go- ing to the Battery. We'll, that's the way we do with rats. We plug up all the ends of the side streets, you might say, and get them OH to a Broadway.
 We do this by turning several fer rets loose to stir them up. The cellar is where want them. There I am with my little bullseye lantern and my long tongs. The rat starts across the floor. hear him and flash the lanterns. The minute the round light spot strikes him he comes to a dead standstill. He seems paralyzed, and he won't move under five seconds. Then is my chance.
 ''If want to save him to try 2 dog with, I reach forward, and with my tengs grab him by the tail. If I don't want 8 live rat-and there aain't much M call for them now-4 break his back with the tongs:
 'Fhe biggest nights work I eyer done was killing 960 rats at Willard's hotel in Washington. When got through that job, felt like proposing to the government to rid the wharves and