Daily inter mountain. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1881-1901, 1900-04-28
ON SHIPS.

New Orleans Times-Democrat: Chat
ting with some friends last night, the
captain of a big freight steamer now
taking on cargo at this port told some
queer stories about rats. II have the
ship cleaned out by professional rat
catchers whenever we touch at Liver
pool" he said, and between times we
it's hard work. We don't care to use
poison. If we did. the hold would soon
be full of dead rats and the stencil would
breed a fever. Our traps are OF the wire
a g pattern and considerable craft has
to be used in setting them, for a ship
rat is a very cunning beast, and he will
| steer clear of decoys that his and lub-
Der brothers walk into with their eyes
wide open. If we simply baited the traps
in the ordinary a and left them about
in the hold we wouldn't catch a dozen
in a year. Our plan is this: On the first
night we open the trap doors and tie
them in that position with bits of string,
so they can't possibly swing shut. Then
we put scraps of old cheese inside and
leave them until the following evening.
That's to reassure the rats that the
strange wire contrivances are perfectly
harmless and that they may enter in with
a certainty of getting out again. Next
night we renew the bait and take off the
strings, and, as a general thing, we
catch all hat the cages will hold. 1 have
seen them so full that it seemed impossi-
JIG ~ SCI pIil ldI A1lSiut, Which, 10
pretty good evidence, as l take it, that
they can't c~Ommunicat with each other
and give the alarm. There is nothing
new about the trick l describe-it is
| practiced on all big ships when the rats
get too bad.
LAS long as the creatures have enough
water to drink" continued the captain,
lighting a fresh cigar, they DOM give
the crew any particular trouble and
keep out of sight down in the bowels Of
the ship. But thirst makes them desper-
ate and then they become an unmitigat-
ed nuisance n will go boldly anywhere
in search of a drink. I nave known them
: to invade the fo'castle in such numbers
that they drove the sailors to the deck,
and at other times I nave seen several
hundred make a combined rush for a
water barrel. 1t woul surprise most
people unaccustomed to scattering life
to know that water is usually kept in the
hold of cargo ships especially for the
rats. 1t is done to keep them below, and
! if for any reason the supply runs short
there is sure to be rOuble. l said just
r now that when the creatures We're thirs-
l ty they would go anywhere. and mean
it to the letter. They will climb the
1 rigging like monkeys, and it is a COM
!, mon thing for them to go clear up to
! the tOpsails looking for the rainWater
, that accumulates in the blight or fold
of furled canvas. Last time l was in
port I saw a green sailor get the scare
of his life. He had gone aloft to shake
out the to%pgallant, and, as he did so,
I four enormous rats sprang out and ran
: up one arm, across his shoulders and
down the other side. He was so startled
that he let loose all his holds and would
: certainly have fallen to the deck If he
! hadn't providentially caught on the
z foot line. Many of the fo'castle hands
3 make pets of rats during a long voyage,
t and it is astonishing how easily they car
s be tanned and made to perform tricks
t When a professional catcher comes
aboard for a general raid there is al.
ways a frantic rounding up of these pets
to get them out Of harms way unit
" after the battle is over"