O, Rats!
There struck the city last week, a singular character named Sara King. who is by profession a ratcatcher, iñ whïch line he has achieved a reputation nationa! in extent. Sara was here for the purpose of contracting to lure to their deaths, the rats of Ann Arbor - not, oi course, including democ-rats. Sani struck the Central milis with thts offuï: He would undertake in a single night to capture ioo rats in the institution or, failing of that number, forfeit all corapensation. If he bagged the hundred, he was to received S.oo. The Central government considered the proposition and declined it, feeling that the price of a bushei of wheat for two rats was high; that in these piping times of depression, it would be cheaper to catch the rats by the 01 dinary process and have a dentist pull their teeth. King claims to be a rat charmer, bis method being to plant himself at night in the infested quarter, armed with a bag, a "bulls-eye" lantern and some sort of black art allurement by which the rats are induced to come from their holes. He flashes the lantern around, with a kind "f incantation like "see-saw, mag-a-ree-jaw," or words to that effect, and straightway come the rodents from their retreats, and without the slightest apparent mental reservation or evasion whatever, run to him, purring and rubbing their bodies against his shins, seemingly very anxious to be caught. Then he simply picks them up, places them in a bag and there are your rats! The secret of his art King will protect with his life, not even divulging it in low breath to his mother-in-law. He was in Detroit lately, and caught three hundred rats in one night, at the Russell house, of which exploit the Detroit papers gave a marvelous account. The rat-king is now gone from Anti Arbor, but may return, and will willingly rat-ify any honorable bargain. It is hinted that there is fraud in his method; that he has provided hiniself with a large nurnber of rubber rats containing automatic machinery, by which they jump from their concealment toward him, and being fitted with some electrically operated phonographs, whine and squeal, just like natural rats, by these devices grossly deceiving the unwary, to their great damage. The Argus, however, puts its foot down on the rat slander - it aint reasonable - and suggests to King that he endeavor to strike a job in the state house at Lansing !and try to bag the rats of the publican administration that have "looted" the treasury till it is nearly bankrupt.
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Ann Arbor Argus
Old News