The Marshall republican., 1909-03-26
Bicycle on Rats.

AdhAbs nN A0ooNf -
ways succeeded in obtaining Q
yield, and I have never heard any
Of my neighbors complain that
they have not rats enough. They
are always complaining about
something but not about this.
The rat is really a remarkable
creature. 1t is quite ancient, and
ii has always seemed to me that
Noah must have been imposed up
on by this enterprising little ami
NAL, that is, too many slipped into
the Ark,-they have been so plen-
tiful ever since.
/ know OF no part Of the world
where it does not exist. Doubtless
Homer, when he wrote his poems,
must have had rats all around him,
in the garrett and cellar. They
went into the Red sea with Pha-
raoh, but got through; Daniel
found them in the den with the
lions and Jonah, no doubt had
their company all the time he was
with the whale. They were most
likely squeaking around little
Moses as he lay in the bulrushes,
and great Caesar must have en-
countered them in every country
through which he marched with
the armies of Rome,-they no
doubt consumed the crackers and
the oats intended for his soldiers
and horses; and William, the Nor
man, whiel he could conquer the
people of Britain, certainly never
.oveTcame the rats of the little is
land.
Even George Washington, who
secured to us our liberties and laid
the foundation of u nation, could
never keep the rats out of the
foundations of his barn and wagon
house. When Ulysses S. Grant
fought his great campaign against
Richmond, rats multitudinous were
with both armies nibbling away at
the hardtack,-Union rats and
Confederate rats and when Sher-
man went marching to the sea, a
whole army of rats went along at
tached to the quartermaster's de-
partment.
We have had rats with us from
the beginning, we have them now,
and we shall have them to the end.
Speaking for Emlwood in partic-
ular we have them at the house, at
the barn, in the corn-crib, at the
wood-shed, in the chicken house,
under the haystacks, in the grain
bin, up in the NOV, out on the
roof, in the water-tank, and down
in the we'll. How many, l do not
know. l only know if we kill
any it does not lessen the the
number.
/ never knew one of our rats to
die. They get old but they live
on. They do not get sick. My
other stock are subject to various
m~aladies, though we take the best
of a r of them but my rats keep
we'll. No insurance is necessary on
their lives, nc physician is ever
called. One would think that
burrowing in the ground and sleep
ing in the damp places, as they
do, they would become crippled
with rheumatism, or take malaria
in some form, but they do not. No
tacteria attack them, or il they do,
they get whipped; and Koch's
lymph is quite uncalled for in
their case. The dreaded grip
passed them by. / never knew a
rat to have even a bad cold and /
dare say their young are entirely
free from such diseases as effect
children -chicken-pox, measles,
Group or mumps-and it would be
indeed a rare thing to see a rat
with whooping-cough. No pep
permint tea is needed, no soothing
syrup nor worm medicine nor flax
seed poultices. They are not
bottle fed, and their teeth come
through without pain or trouble.
Part of my barn roof is tin, and
here they run races. I often hear
them upon frosty nights tearing
around l suppose just for fun.
When there is snow they slide to-
boggan fashion. Harriet is afraid
they will fall off and hurt them
selves, but l am not anxious on
that score. My good wife is not
exactly a champion of rats, but
shei $ very tender-hearted and
wants them to have fair play. She
She knows they have few friends,
and supposes they have hard times
but in this she is mistaken and !
tell her SO. l believe a rat is a
happy, prosperous, comfortable,
hilarious animal, that gets enough
to eat and to wear, with no canker
care TO furrow its brow and gnaW