Evening journal., 1897-03-02
CAPTURING RODENTS.
RAT CATCHING AS A CRAFT HAS uN-
DERGoNE CHANGES.

How st. Louisan Captures the Domestic
Pests at Five Cents q Head r.is Trade
Profitable one-some OF tho Old Methods
CT Getting Sid of the Peslsy varmin;0.
There are few st. Louisans who know |
that rat catching is an established busi
ness in this city. And fewer know that |
considerable ingenuity enters into an
adept practice Of the craft Venerable /
housewives recall how, a generation /
ago, there were some queer characters |
who contracted 10 rid places Of the TO-
dent pests by all manner Of means, from
ordinary icgcrdomain to the extraordi- !
nary method Of the Pied Piper of Hame-
lin There were others. too, who hired
cut intelligent ferrets TO externinatc
rats. But the advance Of civilization
has had its effect on the science Of rat
catching, and even in that branch Of in
dustry mechanical contrivances have
| supplanted manual work.
c. p. johnson is probably the leading
iat catcher Of st. Louis His traps are
not cheap trihes and there are many
! persons who hire him TO set tho con-
trivances in their places, paying . cents
for each of the little pests that is cap
,tured The largest restaurants afford
johnson considerable work. But tho
hotels, which would naturally be OK
pected to offer a favorable field for
Johnson's S work, do not figure as among
his good patrons He says that the rat
is one Of the most cautious of animals,
and that the meddlesomeness Of hostelry
attaches prevents successful trap setting
in hotels. One big down town establish
ment was rid Of 53 rats in one night
Both johnson and Henry Helm attend
to the formers traps. They mako daily
rounds, setting the contrivancos or dis
posing of the captives. When a land
lord wishes his place rid Of rats, he in-
forms johnson of that portion Of the
house where the little animals do mcst
Of their foraging.
For the first night or two the trap IS
set there in such manner that the rats
can nibble the bait and afterward es-
cape. On the day that Johnson finds all
the cheese and crackers III the boxlike
ccntrivance have been dovourcd during
the night he attaches an auxiliary trap,
into which the captive rats are to be
forced out of the view of prospective
prisoners. Thus fully 100 rats can be
caught in ono trap in ono night
johnson says that he docsn' { contract
to entirely rid place cf rats. He thinks
he knows as much about tho business
as any one else" and says that when
the rodents have firmly established
themselves in q house it is almost inn
possible to drive them ont A ferret, he
says, might destroy the nest and the
trap catch all tho rats in the house. but
if the locality is particularly favorable
p for rodent light neighboring pests are
most likely to move into the place.
'"rimes are changed, said an olJ
S timer. Il remember when a man ha,
e to work q sight harder than he doe
{ now before he'd get several pieces Of sil
, yer for "a hours rat catching In thos
? days these nowfaneled traps weron'
a known.
, "There used to be fellow lvini
+ down on the levee that knew nloro abou
rats than jockey knows ohont race
horses Hc had a partner ard both o.
T them worked all kinds of schemes on the
little creatures. These two men had {
Z way of spreading bait on cellar foo
d and then sneaking in on rubber boots
e One Of them carried a sack and a queei
+ pair of tongs. The other had bulls
g eye lantern with a sliding panel.
They'd sit in the dark as quiet as ;
graveyard until the rats commence,
Il lighting and quaireling or until the,
y knew the place was full Of the varmints
5 'Then the lantern would be turned
4 on suddenly, and the rats, who are "a
Il afraid of light as / am Of ghosts, woulC
e stand stock still The man with tn
u tongs-and he was quicker than grease'
II lighning-would pick up the pests an'
p fire them into the sack before the littl
j things knew what was up Sometime
they'd bag as many rs 30 at q crack
but at other times tho rats would be
come accustomed to tho light and scam
q per away before 30 of their comradc
y had been nabbed.
l. But tho science Of rat catching ha
T fewer exponents than has the art Of IA
killing Housekeepors are not generall
"a anxious to have the little animals ahou
l. them. ard hence they pay more attention
ie TO the ways of exercising the pests tha
they 60 20 means Of capturing them.
= In aat.iiion TO the time worn schem
y of poisoned bait. there are a number q
III uniq.a plans thar are operated frol
time 20 time by landlords who have los
ne paticace with the domestic Inarauder'
u An ingcrious individual some time az
N devised n plan of painting "a captive ra
Oh with q phosphorescont preparation an
et then turning it loose. The released "a
y would return to its nest, ard there II
III efulgent coat would frighton the othC
20 rats ont Of all their instincts save tbs
~ of fear
There would be a pollmcll fight. nm
it as rats go in droves the painted rodel
T. would run in their midst, increasin
their fright and hastening their fligh
Some one suggested that the little an
mails would either run themselves
y Heath or continue their chase mt
dawn, when, in the sunlight, the pho