The Bamberg herald. (Bamberg, S.C.) 1891-1972, December 15, 1910, Page 3, Image 3
P? ' ' V- / A
PIED PIPER IN REAL LIFE. ..
Rat-catcher of London Has Method
of Luring the Rodents. ;
It is a few years ago now since the
adeventure happened to me, but the
^ hero of it still goes about his work,
1 and the memory of it is still vivid in
my mind. The scare of plague recalls
| the man and his business.
| v - I met him, by chance, in one of
those little old-fashioned streets, of
| .Jfcueen Anne And Georgian houses,
? rwhich still remain on the slum side
of Westminster Abbey. Outside one
pf them was a high dogcart, a large
^jtack (propped up against a wall) and
the man. It was the sack which first
caught my eye. It was a most peculiar
sack, or, rather, it was an ordinary
sack behaving in a most peculiar
way. I can only describe it by
saying that it heaved, and wobbled,
and squirmed.
I stopped abruptly and said,
"Hullo! What the deuce is inside that
sack.?"
Then I saw the" man. He was a
jlf toll fellow, respectably dressed, with
lb ft pale, thin face, a long nose and
M greenish eyes. He smiled in answer
|| to my expression of surprise, and it
H was then that I noticed the greenish
glint in his eyes.
"What's in the sack?" he said,
p; Well, take a look!"
Ife \ He went to the sack, untied the
p v piece of string and ojffened the mouth
H ^ of the sack, very cautiously, as I
111^ peered over it.
H? "Good Lord!" 1 said '"You don't
||V: \ say so!"
Bp. As a matter of fact, he had said
nothing, but the sight he showed me
Pf was astonishing. Inside that sack
8j| was a heap of live rats, ^rithing,
' clawing, kicking, struggling and bitIll
lug. Ugh! that bagful- of vermin
p: was a beastly thing to see.
g|?'. The man with the greenish eyes
|R' thrust his hand down and drew out,
S&F" " with a sharp jerk, one of the gray
| rats. He had got his head encircled
' by his thumb and forefinger and its
p| legs were kicking furiously.
v . 'That's a fair size!" said the man.
S|: Then he dropped it back into the bag
jfe and tied up the string again.
|||j| "There are 300 of 'em inside
^ there," he said. "Not bad for one
night's catch."
'Three huddred!" I cried. "Where
on earth did you get them?"
He told me that he had caught
QrV'' vtbem in a city warehouse down by
$|?>' the river. He also told me that he
Wsm exnected to get '"a good few" in a
Icily restaurant that very night.
Meanwhile he was going to sell the
sackful to 86m e fancy gentlemen
down Mitcham way, who liked to
give their dogs a bit of fun on a Sunday
morning.
He hoisted the sack into the dogcart,
and with a "good morning to
you," put his foot on the step.
"Look here," I said, "I should be
sorry not to meet you again. Do you
mind giving me your name and address?".
"Why, -certainly," said the man,
and taking out a neat little case he
fh&nded me his card. Underneath
his name, which was an ordinary one,
was an extraordinary title. It was
nothing less than "Ratcatcher to the
City of London."
f; "I am the only man of my trade
in the London Directory," said my
new friend, with a touch of pride.
"If you ever want my services?"
* It is needless to say that from the
moment he handed me his card I was
consumed with a desire to know
more of the man and his methods.
If was only a night or two later when
I met him outside a city restaurant
Aivnm a sidft street less than a half
jpff mile from Ludgate Circus.
It was 9 o'clock. I recognized my
H man in the dark doorway of the res-%
taurant, which had been closed for
' an hour. In the flickering light of
p a street lamp his thin face, with its
long nose, looked whiter than when
I first met him in Westminster, and
v. there was the same strange, greenish
glint in his eyes. Two steel
'' cages about a foot high were on the
ground beside him. He carried a
roll of white cloth under his arm,
and in his right hand a bull's-eye
; lantern and a long, white wand.
"Any ferrets or dogs?" I asked.
"Not much!" was the answer.
"Do you put poison down?" I said.
"Pl'son!"
The man repeated the word savMf.
agely. "I'm not a p'ague merchant,"
yr' he said. "Every rat I take is a live
rat, and I leave no dead 'uns."
He told me that he had already
||fe been inside the restaurant just as it
had shut up for the night. He had
|p * seen that there were plenty of crumbs
and bits of food about the floor, and
had fixed up nets?poachers' nets,
he explained?across tne passages
and doorways. There was nothing
& to do now but get inside, and wait
a bit until the beasts came out of
Bf&j their hiding places.
Inside the long dining room on
?the' ground floor of the city restaurant
there was absolute darkness,
and the stale, fetid smell of warm
dinners that had been cooked and
eaten, of cigarettes and beer dregs
and wine dregs, of cheese and the refuse
of a restaurant at night. In the
J -r' . '* ' ' * \
darkness, not relieved by even the
faint glimmer of a candle, but with
a glint of light twinkling through
the rim of the lantern with its bull'seye
closed, the rat catcher stood motionless
at one corner of the room.
For an hour he stood there without
budging or any sign of restlessness.
Only his breath stole through the
silence with rhythmic whisper as a
a clock on the wall beats out the
time with a steady tick-tack.
Presently there was another sound.
It came very faintly at first, like the
rustling of dead leaves down a pathway.
Then there came queer little
noises?tiny voices, piping and
squeaking, tiny feet, pattering, running,
frisking along the ground floor
dining room of the city restaurant.
These sounds of little footsteps came
from one direction only at first.
men irom oiner pans 01 me roum
they twittered and pattered, and
there were creakings down the old
wainscoating of the walls, and little
rushes and dashes along bare boards,
and little thumps and humps against
wooden partitions, and a geperal
hurrying and scurrying and chivying
and scampering. The room was
alive!
Then for the first time the silent
man in the corner moved. He, too,
came to life again. He opened the
bull's-eye of his lantern and the light
flashed like a sword through the
darkness. It lighted up his face, in
which his eyes blazed like a cat's eyes
at night. It lighted up the white
willow wand with which he bfegan to
beat the floor so that it made a noise
like pistol shots. It lighted up a
swarm of rats on the restaurant
floor, on the chairs and tables, on the
ledges round the walls. Rats! Gray
rats, black rats, brown rats, big old
fellows with full grown whiskers, fat
old. females and youngsters from the
rat nurseries.
The noise of the white willow wand
whipping the floor filled the swarming
mass of vermin with the ecstacy
of fear, and to add to their terror
the man, who was in the midst of
them now, was making a peculiar
noise, most startling as it rang out
in that restaurant. It was a strange,
beast-like cry in his throat?a kind of
jodel, high and shrill. It put a
panic fear into those beasts. They
hurled themselves from the marbletopped
tables where they had been
nosing for bits. They tumbled off
chairs. They rushed wildly toward
the passages and the wainscoating
squeaking, clawing and tearing, jostling
and scrimmaging, with the ferocious
little eyes glinting in the half
darkness. But their swift mad rush
was barred by the nets' which had
been put across the doorways, and
round the room, and as they toppled
against these webs they were caught
in the toils. Like poachers' nets for
trapping rabbits and hares, these had
pockets, from which there ^is no escape.
The rat catcher now dropped his
wand, and the strange cry in his
throat was silent. On the floor were
the two steel cages, and into them he
thrust the victims Of his night attack.
Then he covered them over
with white cloths, and in a little
while he closed his bull's-eye lantern
again, stood motionless for another
hour, until hunger brought out another
horde of rats, and the same
method of capture was repeated. In
the early morning, when the dawn
was coming with its pale gray light
into London streets, the rat catcher
left the City Restaurant, and in his
cages were 80 of those horrid small
beasts, which the fancy gentlemen
of Mitcham, and other suburbs, go
hunting with their terriers on a Sunday.
This is no fairy tale. The rat
catcher to the city of London is re
ally in the directory, and he does his
work exactly as I have described. I
have examined his books, and I have
seen that in some city restaurants,
and restaurants further west, along
the line of the river, he has caught
as many as 100 rats in one night and
in some city warehouses as many as
300 at a time. Londoners do not
realize what vast hordes of rats are
swarming in the cellars and underground
hiding places of old streets
and wharves. In London there are
scores of thousands of rats which
hide by day and come out only in the
night. When the offices are deserted
and the warehouses locked, and the
last tram car has gone home to the
suburbs there is a greater population
of these verminous creatures
along certain lines of the city than
of human beings. The hungry rats
have a happy hunting ground among
the rubbish and heaps and the refuse
of a great city. It would be a bad
thing for London if its rats became
infested witn plague. me danger
of it makes one shudder!?London
Ends Winter's Troubles.
To many, winter is a season of
trouble. The frost.bitten toes and
fingers, chapped hands and lips, chilblains,
cold sores, red and rough
skins, prove this. But such troubles
fly before Bucklen's Arnica Salve. A
trial convinces. Greatest healer of
burns, boils, piles, cuts, sores, eczema
and sprains. Only 25c at People's
Drug Co., Bamberg, S. C .
Send The Herald to a friend next
year and make that friend happy.
^^s?
RACE PREJUDICE NORTH.
Exclusion of Negroes from Whit
Neighborhoods Becoming General.
Residents in one of the outlyinj
districts have banded themselves t
prevent the entrance into their vi
cinity of negroes as property owner
and tenants, basing their action upoi
consideration of public order as wel
as upon the necessity of preventini
n HotoHnrntinn in rpnl AstafA valiiAfi
This movement reflects an experienc
which has come to most cities wher<
the increase of the negro populatioi
has been sufficiently great to empha
size the inevitable antagonism o
races but it also brings into vivid re
lief one of the more serious aspect
of the problem of the right adjust
ment of the relations between th<
white and the black elements of ou
country. It illustrates the justnes
of the complaint made by negroei
themselves that insuperable obstacle:
are placed in the way of their rac<
whenever the effort is made to lift th<
individual out of squalid surround
ings and afford him the opportunity
to reap the benefit of hard-won im
provement in his mental and materia
condition.
Harlem may find it impossible t<
prevent the purchase of real estat<
by negroes if any considerable num
ber of them should determine to occu
py that locality, but it is useless t<
blink the fact that the majority o
the j white people of the North wil
sympathize with the desire to ex
elude them as near neighbors. Thii
is a feeling which cannot be defend
ed or argued about; it is merely '<
fact of humap nature, misguided an<
mistaken, but one that has to b<
reckoned with. The white man wh<
has invested his all in a home canno
be expected to contemplate witl
equanimity a change in his socia
surroundings which means for him i
decline in the value of his investmen
and intimate association with per
sons personally repugnant to him.
The feeling of the Oriental towan
the Western "barbarian" is not mor<
a matter of reason than is the unwill
ingness of the average American t<
"mix" races radically different in ex
ternal appearance and training fron
himself. On the other hand, the con
dition thus created is in the highes
degree tragic for the ostracised mi
nority. They are compelled to liv<
/\K?Mirn onH rnimnitftrr neiehbor
*** WMOVU.V ~ < ?
hoods, are refused the elevating an<
improving influences of a social pub
lie opinion that demands high stand
ards of cleanliness and comfort, an<
yet are held accountable for failur<
and retrogression.
Vow the negro is going to be help
ed rise under these circumstances i
one of the inscrutable problems o
our time and gefieration.?Philadel
phia Ledger.
Total Cotton Crop.
Washington, Dec.' 9.?The tota
production of cotton in the Unite
States for 1910-'11 will amount t
5,464,597,000 pounds (not includin,
linters,) which is equivalent to 11,
426,000 bales of 500^ pounds, gros
weight, according to the estimate o
the crop reporting board of th
United States department of agricul
ture, issued to-day. The 1909 cro
was 10,004,949 bales and the 190
crop, 13,587,306 bales.
The estimated production by State
follows:
Virginia, 13,000.
North Carolina, 675,000.
South Carolina, 1,116,000.
Georgia, 1,750,000.
Florida, 58,000.
Alabama, 1,174,000.
Mississippi, 1,160,000.
Louisiana, 260,000.
Texas, 3,140,000.
Arkansas, 815,000.
Tennessee, 305,000.
Missouri, 48,000.
Oklahoma, 900,000.
California, 12,000.
Telephone Engineer Dead.
Spartanburg, Dec. 9.?C. E. Stii
son, of Buffalo, the telephone engii
eer, who was recently employed b
the chamber of commerce to appraU
the plant of the Southern Bell Teh
phone company, with a view to test
fying before the State railroad con
mission in a complaint against tb
company, was found dead in bed i
the Hotel Finch to-day.
Dr. Defoix Wilson said that deat
was due to alcoholism. Mr. Stinso
called Dr. Wilson yesterday. He wz
highly nervous but Dr. Wilson foun
nothing alarming in his conditio
and left, after prescribing a sed;
tive. j
John Wood, secretary of the char
I ber of commerce, will leave for Bu
falo with the body to-morrow mori
ing.
As a result of Mr. Stinson's deat
the plans of the chamber of cor
j morce with reference to the telephor
i situation will temporarily be held i
abeyance.
The Herald Book Store has ju
received a line of Conklin's self fil
ing fountain pens. They are abs
Jutely guaranteed. Prices $3.0
$3.50, and $4.00.
TAX NOTICE.
' The treasurer's office will be open
e for the collection of State, county,
i school and all other taxes from the
15th day of October, 1910, until the
loth day of March, 1911, inclusive.
I From the 1st day of January,
5 1911, until the 31st day of January,
1911, a penalty of one per cent will
be added to all unpaid taxes. From
s the 1st day of February, 1911, until
a the 28th day of February, 1911, a
j penalty of 2 per cent will be added
to an unpaid taxes. From tne 1st
? day of March, 1911, until the 15th
> day of March, 1911, a penalty of 7
e per cent, will be added to all unpaid
e taxes.
THE LEVY.
* or State purposes 5 3-4 mills
" For County purposes 5 1-2 mills
f Constitutional school tax.... 5 mills
Total
14 1-4 mills
8 SPECIAL SCHOOL LEVIES.
- Bamberg, No. 14 9 mills
e Binnakers, No. 12 3 mills
r Buford's Bridge, No. 7 2 mills
_ Clear Pond, No. 19 2 mills
B Colston, No. 18 I 2 mills
8 Cuffle Creek, No; 17 2 mills
b Denmark, No. 21 6 1-2 mills
s Ehrhardt, No. 22 4 mills
Govan, No. 11 .. 4 mills
Hutto, No. 6 2 mills
" Hampton, No. 3 2 mills
|r Heyward, No. 24 : , 2 mills
. Hopewell, No. 1 3 mills
, Hunter's Chapel, No. 1 3 mills
Hunter's Chapel, No. 16 1 mill
Lees, No. 23 4 mills
3 Midway, No. 2 2 mills
e Oak Grove, No. 20 2 mills
Olar, No. 8 4 mills
Sc. John's, No. 10 2 mills
* Salem, No. 9 -3 mills
3 Three Mile, No. 4 2 mills
f All persons between the ages of
, twenty-one and sixty years of age,
except Confederate soldiers and sail'
ers, who are exempt at 50 years of
s age are liable to a poll tax of one
- dollar.
Capitation dog tax 50 cents.
All persons who are twenty-one
years of age on or before the 1st day
^ of. January, 1910, are liable to a
3 poll tax of one dollar, and all pert
sons who have not made returns
to the Auditor, are requested to do
1 so on or before the 1st of January,
1 1911, and thereby save the penalty
i and costs.
t I will receive the commutation
road tax of two ($2,000 dollars from
the 15th day of October, 1910, until
the .1st day of March, 1911.
i JOHN F. FOLK,
a Treasurer Bamberg County.
; FOR FRESH MEATS
such as beef, pork, dressed chick*
ens, and the like, yon will do justice
to both your appetite and to
t your pocket to hunt for the
market opposite * the , artesian
well, second door to Copeland's *
warehouse. We only handle the .
best meats that money can buy.
1 We also pay the highest prices for
beef cattle, pork hogs, chickens
and eggs. Restaurant in connection,
where you can get hot
1 meals at all times. ^ (
9 A. W. BRONSON,
BAMBERG, S. C.
rtreiyMenfhl
j writes Lola P. Roberts, of I
i II Vienna, Mo., "I used to be
o I sick most of the time and
e sufferedwith backache and
~ | headache. My Mother, who
f had been greatly neipeaoy
e the use of Cardui, got me I
i- I two bottles, and I have
p been well ever since."
|
The Woman's Tonic
I Carduj Js a gentle tonic I
I for young and old women. I
|t relieves arid prevents I
I pain. It builds strength. It H
feeds the nerves. It helps M
the whole system. II
Made from hornless II
roots and herbs, it has no II
D bad after-effects, does not II
Interfere with the use of
^ I any ofher medicine and can I
x_ I do you nothing but good.
y TryCarduL It will help I
>e I you. Your dealer sells it I
mm
i- IbHHIHHIHHI
>_
,'e
1 Improved Saw Mills.
3-FRICTION FEED. aad^Reliablc.
f- jX-est material and workmanship, light
a- 'running, requires little power; simp^
{easy to .andie. Are made in several
[sizes and are good, substantial money!
making machines down to the smallest
n_ jsize. Write for catalog showing Enle
igines, Boilers and all Saw Mill supplies,
in | Lombard iron Works & Supply Co.,
) -I, AUGUSTA, OA.
PUBLIC NOTICE.
st I positively forbid anybody hunt
11- or trespassing in any way on my land
o- If any one should be caught doin*
^ what is hereby forbidden, he will b<
' punished by the full extent of th<
law. MRS. P. W. SANDIPER.
1A New Car Load 1
|igg We have just received a car load n
? X of Horses and Mules direct from the n , ^ lowest.
This is an exceptionally nice gj
load, being selected in person by our' S
Mr. W. P. Jones. See them. n
O # 0 H' * I ' .11
Buggies & Harness 11
We also have a mighty nice lot of \ I ;
Buggies and Harness, and can equip , B
you with a stylish turnout complete. MX
Let us serve you. Ton will find us
r liberal as to prices and dealings. K g
JONES BROS., I
IJ BAMBERG, S. C. ftfl
EHRHARDT BANKING COMPANY. I rig
Ehrhardt, S. C. I ^
CAPITAL STOCK $20,000.00. I ^
We do a general banking business, and solicit your account K|9B
We are backed by a strong board of directors, insuring you :|;^|B|
every safety. We allow you 4 per cent, on deposits in our sav- I
ings department. We extend to our customers every courtesy
consistent with good banking. We receive accounts of individuals,
firms, and corporations on favorable terms, and shall be
pleased to meet or correspond with those who contemplate mak- ;
ing changes or opening new accounts. # -\W&mR
/ * * I
J. L. COPELAND, J. C. KTNARD, A. F. HENDERSON, '-W^M
President Vice-President Cashier. .'K|jfr8
m. WBME
Telephone and find Out! |
Y jM When is the meeting ? j|
The telephone answers these quesj^M
tions for thousands of Farmers every day. Jl
It will do this and more for you. The
i r^( o fplpnlinnp nn vour Farm
'small; the saving is great : '
Our free booklet tells you all abouaB
it Write for it today. Address
Farmers Line Department :Sl
SOUTHERN BELL TELEPHONE ffl j
& TELEGRAPH COMPANY
Sonth Pryor St. Atlanta. Ca.
I is Here 11
? We have just received a fresh tine of / ? Jpj
@ Raisins, Currants, Citron, Figs and p|9
@ Dates, Nuts, and all kind of Fruits, j^ffi
] @ Prompt Delivery to Any Part of City. A
j S share of your patronage will be appreciated A
IE. L. PRICE, JR. 4 C0.ll
& BAMBERG, S. C. ?j M
lywYAynyiyAyjwvfflWAMlW^^^q^^M^HYwyWY^roCTSw^^^Wg ': .??
j When in need of any kind of printing, no matter ^^i
s what it may be, it will certainly be to your advan-ia
* * A ?1??? ? ? J LaIa?a 1?nrlmr It rlniiin '^mwI
| tage 10 get our