Year: 1875

Some Wise Old Rats.


heard the narrative first from the
lips of an old sea captain man Of un-
questionable veracity-and 1 have not
the slightest doubt of its entire truth
fulness, although the reader is not
obliged to believe it. I will give it as
nearly as can remember in the nara
tors own words:


81 sailed from New York for Liver.
pool, with an assorted cargo" said the
captain, sin a ship terribly infested
with rats. tried every plan could
think of to lessen their number, but all
without effect. The more caught the
more there seemed to be, till 1 became
almost dishearted and well-nigh re-
solved to let them alone altogether.


cat length one of the sailors sug-
gested new trap, which struck me as
ingenious, and which 1 thought likely
to prove efficient. Acting under the
advice of the old sea-dog alluded to, 1
took barrel, which 1 half filed with
water-then took the head belonging
to the barrel and trimmed it on the
edges, till it was small enough to fit in
side the barrel-across this head |
nailed a stick, the ends of which pro-
jected about an inch on each side,
which ends / had whitfield round-then
l bored two holes, one each side of the
barrel, near the top, and inserted the
ends of the stick therein, so that the
head while apparently covering the bar
rel, swung free of it. Now fastened
a piece of pork on the exact center of
the cover so that it would swing neither
one way nor the other unless touched
on the edges, and my trap was complete.
The reader will readily understand that
when rat leaped on the edge of the
cover to get at the pork in the center,
it would go down with his weight and
drop him into the water below after
which 1t would swing to its former po-
sition and be ready for the next Gus
toner.


"The trap succeeded admirably. On
the m orning after l first set it counted
thirty dead rats in the barrel-fine fat
fellows, who had been plundering the
ships stores till they had swelled to
aldermanic proportions. On the second
night 1 caught twenty-on the third
night twelve-on the fourth night two
on the fifth night none at all-and
yet strange to say, the pork was gone.
I baited it again and again, but each
time the pork was gone and no rats
i0ere caught. This puzzled me not
little. How could the rodents secure
the pork without getting free bath ?
The subject worried me- L called a
council of war consisting of the entire
crew and officers of the ship, but no.
body could suggest a solution of the
mystery, and in the meantime the rats
were thicker than ever. My curiosity
and my combativeness were both
aroused. / resolved to solve the mys-
terry at any cost. l determined to
watch.


Accordingly at about seven O'Clock
one evening, while it was yet light, |
took pinnacle light and went down
into the hold of the ship where L had
fixed my trap. hung lamp on a nail
and ensconciDg myself behind a cask OF
beef in an easy a position as possible,
settled myself to await patiently solu-
ton of the problem which had so puz-
zled and vexed me.


can hour posed by and yet no sound
save the plash of the waves as they
parted from the ships bow, and the
straining of the cordage. fell upon my
ears. My eyes had become accustomed
to the darkness of the hold, and the
dim religious light thrown by the bin
nacle lamp, made every thing around
me distinctly visible.


cat length slight scratching noise,
followed by a squeak, startled me, and
the next moment two grav blocking and
obese old rats ran to the cleared space
whereon the barrel stood, and snuffing
the air as they looked around, began to
reconnoiter.


"Seemingly satisfied after brief in
vestigation that no enemy was at hand,
they scampered back, and in the course
of some five minutes returned with an
army numbering some thirty or forty
of their companions at their back.


81 watched with breathless eager
ness to see what would follow next.


"After apparently consulting together
awhile the rats divided themselves into
two squads, and one half remained on
one side of the barrel while the other
half went round on the other side.
Then the party on the side nearest me
ascended the side of the barrel one after
another, each placing his forward feet
on the edge of the cover to hold it
down, and then the party on the oppo-
site side ascended, surrounded the pork
loosened it from the cover, dragged it
to the ground. and then the whole party
surrounded it and began greedily to de-
YOUR it. The mystery was explained,
and concluded that from that time
forth it was useless to attempt to cir
cumvent the rodent thieves. Grasping
an old Delaying pin, which somehow
had found its way into the hold, l let 1t
fly full force at the crowd, and sue
ceeded in knocking over some three or
four of them, and bothered myself no
further about them.