Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1899-06-07
HE Is A RAT DRIVER.
LUMINOUS PAINT SUCCEEDS WHERE
BELLS, TAR AND TRAPS FAILED.


New York of Troublesome Rodents-Be-
gan the Business In Stockholm.
Haibtues of Riverside drive, between
Seventy fifth and Eightieth streets, on
very sunny days have noticed a middle
aged man carrying a case, which ap-
pears to be about three feet long by one
foot deep and two feet wide. 1t is ap-
parently black leather case with an
ordinary grip handle to the upper part,
and the man, seeking some unfrequent-
ed piece of wall, generally one of the
embrasures, places his case on the wall,
smokes his pipe and letters around, look
ing at the ever changing river and its
traffic. If others come around, he moves
on, but if not he may stay there from
two to three hoars in the full sun. He
Is a rat catcher, or rather a rat driver.
He works only in large warehouses and
does not touch the smaller dwelling
houses or fats except in rare cases.
He is a Scandinavian whom nothing
will warm to conversation but his ma
tive tongue. His case Is wood on the
back, ends and bottom and wire on the
front and top. There are neat spring
shades which roll down over front and
top. In this cage are eight or ten large
rats. If any one comes near, down go
the shades, but as long as the coast is
clear the shades are up and the rats are
running around baskiug in the sunlight.
If he takes you into his confidence, he
will tell You that it is with these rats
he clears buildings. The other day he
said:
when 1 was living in Stockholm,
the large granaries Were full of rats,
and a reward was offered to clear them.
Many tried. Traps We're set by the
hundred.
lone man built room as large as an
ordinary parlor, cased it with tin and
fed the rats with oatmeal scented with
oil Of aniseed, gradually laying trains
of this feed to the room until he had all
the rats on a string. Then he fitted an
automatic drop to the entrance, and
when his rats were feeding he Gagged
them all, several hundred. The first
man who did this went into the room
with dogs to kill them and was nearly
eaten himself, like that farmer out west
a few weeks ago. The second man
starved and then poisoned his, but in a
week there were just as many rats as
ever. Tho supply was inexhaustible
from the rivers and quays. Poisoning
was no good because Of the terrific
smell, and so l took the matter in hand.
Il thought it over and finally set
trap and caught some rats. Then tied
a piece of wire round their necks, TO
which 1 slung a little tinkling brass
bell, and then I let tho bell ringers
loose in the building they had been
h..
went to join their friends and relatives,
who of course ran from the bells. The
more they ran tho moro ran the bell
carriers, until the building was hoo
doo' in rat language and not a rat
would enter.
eff L could have lured back my bell
carriers, all would have been well; but,
familiarity breeding contempt, the rats
grew accustomed to them and i'll a few
months were back again, and as build
ing after building had been cleared by
this trick there was not "a rat in the city
who did not know of the bells. Then 1
tried tarring some rats with strong
smelling coal tar, which rats cannot
bear and will avoid if possible, and this
answered for awhile, but fire occurred,
and "a rat, tar coated, ran out of the
blazing building with his fur ablaZe
and, going into another building not in
danger, set it on fire-wood gets very
dry in those old buildings over there
and so an ordinance was passed prOhib
iting the use of tar.
II had made money, aud 1 came to
this country. I did well for some years,
but III the depression my capital ran
short and 1 failed; so then 1 took TO
clearing business places of rats again
and am doing quito well. The first
thing is to learn the lay of the building
where the rats come from. If a grain
elevator is near, clear the elevator and
trap those III the other places. Rats verj
seldom run around more than one build
ing, except as an overflow. Then, hav-
ing determined that point, try the tar,
then the bell, and after that these fell
lows in the cage. They are coated with
luminous paint, and being exposed to
the sunlight here can be taken to a
building tonight, loosed and will fly
the runs, spreading fear wher-
ever they go and creating stampede.
If you have ever seen luminous paint
effects, you can readily understand it.
The great beauty of this plan is that the
rats do not live more than "a TO As
hours after n coating with this paint, so
the novelty never wears of. 1t is a prep
aration Of lime, which / discovered for
myself, and has TO be newly made and
mixed like a varnish. This closes the |
pores of the skin, and after chasing
around to catch up with the flying reia- ,
tives the rat Is in a sweat, and that fin
ishes him, and they never get used TO it. /
Will rat sweat? Well, you cage rat, |
and then let terrier roll the cage !
around for few minutes, and you will I
see a rat as damp as if dipped into a
pail of water. I get as high as $40 a !
month for keeping some places in this
city clear of rats, and L work several
other cities as well. The only thing am !
afraid of is the society prevention of
Cruelty to Animalsl. but I have nearly /.