The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1906-12-02
TERRIBLE EXPERIENCE
Of Man Who Fought Hundreds
Starving Rats for Seven Days.

From the New York Evening World.
| Carl Hammond, 60 years old, who has
| had no home for a third of a century.
| was rescued last evening from a living
death which he had endured for seven
days, by some children and Policeman
Stull of the Glendale police station. Long
Island City. At the station house he told
a story that caused policemen who are
used to tales of hard luck and horror to
shudder and sincerely lament the old
mans fate.
Hammond was tired and sleepy a week
ago yesterday and at Myrtle and Cypress
avenues, Long Island City, he saw the lit
tie picnic ground, Ridgeway Park, with
it's inviting buildings, and decided to go
in for a sleep. He chose the icehouse
and slept soundly. There was no one
about to disturb him. If anything married
his rest, it was the presence of huge rats
which frisked about, and he paid little
attention to them-not then, but later.
they paid much attention to him.
Last Monday morning Hammond was
reused by the noise of a hammer on the
door of the icehouse. where he had spent
! the night. He thought ii was better to
be quiet and not go out while some one
was near. In half an hour the noise
ceased and the old man went to the door,
intending to stroll down town and scare
/ up a breakfast. But the door was locked
/ from the outside-secretly locked, at that.
| A real estate company had recently pur-
| chased the little park. which is two acres
/ In extent, and ordered their Waterman to
! put locks the doors of the different
buildings. This Waterman it was whom
! Hammond had heard.
Hammond now tried to get out, but he
| could not begin to bulge the solid door.
and icehouses do not have windows.
Again he went to the door and threw his
weight against it. 1t did not show the
| slightest tendency 10 move. For two or
| three hours the prisoner walked about.
| now cheering himself with the hope that
| he could find some way to escape, now
giving way to a feeling of dread and fear.
At last he fell asleep, and when he awak-
/ ened he dimly saw the ugly eyes of big
| rats smiling on him. He cursed them and
! threw sawdust at them. At first they
| scampered away, but soon became more
| brave. Sawdust would not then make
| them move; he had to run at them and
| almost step on them before they ran to
| their holes.
| Hammond ventured to call out for heir
| that first evening, but the sound of his
| voice died away in the close walls. There
| was no chance for it to reach the outer
| world.
Tuesday morning dawned, but Ham
/ mond could only learn that the sun was
| up by n little crack through the thick
| door. Tuesday night came. and with il
| hunger and thirst, such as the prisoner
did not know men could endure, and rats
| rats by the dozen, rats by the score.
| Day by day the old man would stand
| by the door and cry out with all of his
! failing strength and day by day the walls
would shut in his appeal and mock him
| He says he could have stood the hunger
but the thirst was too terrible to de.
| scribe
| Hammond thinks it was only a couple
| of days that the rats conquered him, COM
| pletely whipped him. Then they set about
/ to eat him. They practically ate the flesh
| from his fingers and his neck. and would
have eaten his whole body had it not been
| for his clothes.
| All the time he fought them. but each
| hour the fight had less enthusiasm and
| strength in ii, until when the children
! happened to be in the park and heard his
groans and the policeman battered in the
door, the old man had about given up the
unequal struggle and was mumbling to
himself:
Let 'em eat me, eat poor old Ham
mond, the old worthless tramp"
The officer took the starving man out
and gave him water and food. He will
perhaps recover. in the German hospital.
Williamsburg, where he was sent