The daily journal. (Salem, Or.) 1899-1903, 1900-02-06
FERRETS.
HOW PROFESSIONAL RAT cATcHERs
USE The ANIMALS.

"Weasels and ferrets," said a pro
gessional rat catcher, "are about tht
same thing The imported ferrets
trained to the business are larger thar
the weasel that is all. After | an
through with rat catching use my fer
rets to hunt rabbits out Of brush piles
hay and straw stacks, which Is a prof
table business when rabbits are
plenty. What you call rabbits over
here we In England call hares.
"When man once starts In as a
professional rat catcher and gets TO
understand training and working fer
rets, there Is such an attraction In the
trade that he never willingly gives Il
up. It's a profitable business without
too much competition"
do the terrets ever bite your
ITS very careless and awkward
man that gets bitten by a trained fer
ret. When one Is bitten by an enrag.
ed ferret, the bite Is of a very severe
character. extremely painful and slow
TO heal"
As the rat catcher talked 0-month.
old ferret, his fiery little eyes gleam-
ing like living gems, was crawling over
his lap and trying to get In under his
coat. -Thls fellow" said the rat
catcher "is as gentle as a kitten and
likes TO have his back rubbed and to
be caressed as well as any cat you ever
saw. when the ferret bites a rats
neck, he knows exactly what he Is do
ing, and his front teeth, cutting like
razors, go right through the jugular.
"Of course we generally muzzle them
when we send them In after rats, and
we always muzzle them when we send
them in after rabbits. II their teeth
were at liberty, they would kill the
first rat or rabbit they met and would
remain In the hole sucking Its blood.
When we put ferret into house aft
er rats, we stop up all the holes at the
outside of the house except one or two.
over these we place bags, and the fer
rets, driving the game before them,
run the rats into the bags. We keep
the ferret without his ordinary meals
before using him, and this makes him
keener In his chase.
ITS mighty easy TO spoil ferret.
After a young ferret has been badly
bitten by n rat, as sometimes happens,
you can't get him to go into hole
muzzled. But when ferret is full
grown and has the skill and courage
that he should have he Is n holy terror
to rats and Is a valuable animal |
would not sell well trained ferret for
$50, the price OF good horse. Such
ferret should be willing to put In
pit with 90 rats, and he could In n short
time XIII every one Of them. Rats are
great fighters when they are cornered,
but no other animal OF the same size
has as much courage as n ferret or
weasel.
"In England the largest ferrets are
called polecat ferrets and are n cross
OF the two animals, which are much
alike. In this country the word pole.
cat Is applied TO the skunk, an entirely
different animal. The word polecat
is supposed TO be an abbreylatlon OF
Polish cat. and the animal abounds
all over Europe. The mink Is much
like the weasel, except that II Is larger,
and many depredatlons that are at
trlbutod 20 the weasel are committed
by the mink. All these animals prowl
by night, and they frequently go many
miles In search OF food. even coming
Into towns and the suburbs of cities"
Audubon, who was close student
OF nature. was delighted with the
weasel. or American ferret. Its long,
flexible body. Its extraordinary length
OF neck, the closeness OF It's fur, It's
keenness OF scent, It's wonderful aglll
" and quickness OF movement. all ex
cited his admiration.
An American writer says: The com
mon weasel has sometimes been
caught and carried on 10y large hawks
aud owls, Sorry was the experience |
Of the captor In such cases. lie has |
caught Tartar The captive win bite |
into the sides OF the enemy, so that |
both Will fall to the ground, the bird |
wounded and the weasel usu.
ally comparatively unhurt.
Tho weasers courage In defending II.
self when attacked by birds OF prey is |
admitted, nor Is II deficient
In fierce opposition TO dogs and even
men when its nest is Invaded by ei.
Their II usually kills for food, biting
through the head into the brain with |
such expertness that lts victim can
scarcely utter a cry OF pain, II usually
eats the brain FIRST; then the rest OF
the body follows, In pursuing mice,
rats ana moles II follows them into
heir runs or holes. A weasels
TO a poultry yard Is not 20
DO desired, But In barns. hayricks
and grain stacks IL is decidedly al.
vantageous, as II viii surely EXTENT
nate or drive away rats and mice"
The weasels characteristics are not,
ed IN two American sayings, Catch
4 weasel asleep" and "SoOner trust a
weasel with eggs" Stories are told
that n weasel VIII watch a hen ON the
nest for an hour waiting for freshly
laid egg.-lndlanapolls News
A STREET CAR COMEDY.