The weekly intelligencer. [volume] (Lexington, Mo.) 1891-1901, 1898-09-10
EXPERT RAT CATCHERS.
They Depend Principally on Dogs,
Ferrefs and Charms for sac-
cess In Their work.

There are about 100 expert rat catch
ers in New York. Some of them are
employed by firms making q specially
Of the work; others travel around on
their own responsibility, undertaking
for a consideration to clear buildings
of rats, no matter how long they have
made them their strongholds. The
itlnerant rat catcher. as a rule, pro-
fesses TO have some occult power by
which he ian charm the mischievous ro-
dents from their holes as the Pied Piper
Of Hnmelin charmed the rats away from
that city and lured them TO their doom.
The itinerGnt rat catcher is generally
n nnturalized Engllshman- who claims
TO have brought his secret from Lon
don, where rat catching Is more of a
trade than II Is here. Though his pow
ers IRE exaggerated, there is some col
or to his claims, just us there are au'
thentlcatcl cases Of rats attacking
babes In their cribs and sucking the
blood OF adults when they are asleep.
The rat-catching firms are skeptica.
about the alleged occult powers of thu
travelling operators, and claim thai
skill, in conjunction with the proper
appliances, is all the power a ra'
catcher possesses. A member Of TIL
firm OF Adolph Isaacsen & Co. who hay'
kept a rat-catching establishment a
No. So Fulton street for many years
said, in talking of the trade;
"We depend on the skin Of our me
and the use Of f%errets, terriers an
traps to clear away rats. There may BIZ
as some people claim, a certain kind Q
oil by which men can attract rats fror
their holes by amounting themselve
with il, but | never knew of q case @
rats being charmed by such means.
am satisfied with the ordinary metf
DDS, combined with skill andknowledg
of the habits Of the rats. We keep
number Of expert men and clear built
ings of rats by contract. Our principi
reliance is on ferrets and dogs specia
ly trained.
The dogs and the ferrets hunt b
scent. The ferrets are slower In tracin
the nest Of rats than dogs, and that
where the usefulness of a trained dc
comes in. The dog points when I
reaches the proper rat hole, standin
rigid when he comes TO the place, wit
his tail sticking out, and not utterir
a sound. The trained ferret then
let into the hole and does the res
There Is nothing rats fear rs much
ferrets. The ferret Is the rats na
ural enemy, and rats are paralyzed vii
fear when a ferret appears. The Re
ret goes about like lightning, teariI
the windpipe Of every rat, and will NJ
leave the hole until every rat is kille
Sometimes II Is necessary 20 use traI
Poison is seldom used, and an expe
rat catcher alone knows how TO s
traps A rat when caught by the Il
will sometimes gnaw the limb of al
escape. Expert rat catchers earn fro
SIS 10 SIS a week. Most Of them a
, single men"
!, A farmer who employed an itinera
!. rat catcher TO clear his barn and HI
. ricks Of rats said to the reporter III
undoubtedly there was something
the claims Of such men that they h
. a peculiar oil which attracted rats. T
, rats came out in dozens when this pc
| tlcular rat catcher sprinkled hims'
with q liquid with a pungent odor fro
a bottle, and were caught by him a
4 put In q bag. lie appeared to be al
! TO handle the rats with impunit
= though rats will bite when corner,
Q and their bite is often poisonous. ]
d carried the bag Of squlr1ning roder
o away with HMM. Y. Journal.