The daily morning journal and courier., 1903-06-27
WOoLLY SNAKE ON LEGS.
Ferrets Are Not Pleasant, But They
 Are Eficaciously Rough on Rats.

Did you ever suddenly come upon an animal looking something like a woolly snake mounted on four very short legs, nosing about i'll your clothes closet?" asked a Manhattan girl who had just returned from visiting friends in the suburbs. Well, if you never did," she added, your nerves have yet to. undergo one of the severest tests that mine ever experienced. What the uncanny thing was and how it came to be there will tell you: ....- .'
 ''The house, large rambling wooden building, was fairly overrun with rats and mice, which broke out nights with their constant scratching, gnawing and soft but distinct footsteps in the walls. They also did not a little damage in the store cupboard, where quantities. of certain kind of jam and several de- | licious hams fell victims to their appe- | tites !. And on one dreadful occasion lay awake the entire night with my gas | burning, keeping off a huge invader with various boottrees, shoes and other available ammunition, regretting sadly that my golf bag, with it's formidable contents, reposed down stairs in a cup board. ,,
 My host engaged a man with fer | rets to visit the house the next night and see what they could do toward les sening the evil ...... ,. .... ... ss.4 | "So about o'clock cart drove to the door and a young man got out. In one | hand he carried a valise, in the other ! an oblong box about fifteen inches long, covered with newspaper. Through a | hole in the paper peeped in between two ,slats and saw pair of bright eyes peering out iii mingled curiosity and hunger. % -...., ,.s.- x
 "The 'ratman.' as the children called l him, went up to the attic with the mas | ter of the house to view sundry holes and reconnoitre, while my hostess and | sat in the hall at safe distance from the box. A faint disagreeable odor came | from it and in few minutes strange, moaning tremolo, which was inexpressi- | ply weird as it sounded from the box in
 the shadow of the stairs. s9. ..4A:. | When the ratman returned we made
 him show us the ferrets, which were l two quaint, long, brown and white
 creatures, with broad heads coming suddenly to a sharp point, and bright, beady eyes that gazed about blindly, 1 for, like the owl, they see best in the
 dark---snake-like beings that crawled out and over the box till at a command
 from their trainer they returned to | their cage.
 ''The man took them up to the attic, | Ixt,t,a !, hoa pd fy1 thn Hnn1>
 put the starved animals in and nailed
 it down to the floor again.
 "'They got for the young 'uns in the
 nest, eat 'em up and chase the others
 out. Rats can't abide the smell of q ferret said he. can sympathize with the rats there.
 We had not been sitting for long when the sound of scampering in the walls told us the ferrets had already got to work. Presently gave scream and jumped up, for a great rat ran
 across my toe and made off upstairs.
 Was it really rat?' asked my
 host. I didn't see it.
 Certainly it was. He went up
 stairs, probably to my room. I know
 what rat looks like now, you may de- lpend on it.
 "'I will warn the man to watch the
 hole. It must have come out of the
 coat closet there and he went off, not to return. Suddenly door opened silently behind me, and, swinging
 round, faced the ratman with dark
 lantern. He came into the hall witt
 noiseless step, and in hushed voice said to me:
 "'You saw one here ma am, think Please tell me where he came from ant
 where he went
 So I pointed to his entrance ant , exit, gathered up my portfolio ant l went to my room. Opening my clothes
 closet, received the shock I have al ready told you about Notwithstand , ing the fact that I knew the blood
 thirsty little beast nosing about, ther, was ferret doing good work. I dit not stop to pet or encourage it, but fiet | to another bedroom, where I locked tn door securely.
 Tn spite of the ferrets we all slep
 well, and in the morning heard the glat news that they had chased nine rat
 into the trap which lay invitingly a l the Only kUUWll GAlI bIleiL lldu HUI UGel stopped up. How many more got ou
 into the fields we did not know O care.
 After this success contract wa
 signed by the man to rid the house ant , stable of the destructive vernin, ant thenceforth the house was his for fortnight. He came after most of u were in bed and left before we were ur so that we rejoiced that he had a mic face, and was we'll recommended an lvouched for. Otherwise our valuables- , but I steadfastly locked my door an , took no chances. i ..
 At the end of fortnight the rat
 man. informed my host that his ferret had done their work and he pronounce
 the house and stable free of the mar auders.. He said he had caught 100, bu we, like canny Scots, 'hae GOT doots In any case, the sound of the rat wa . heard no more, and our sleep wa lhenceforward the deep-peaceful rest Q