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Show FUN FOR THE CATS. A Tralnod Company That Goes Rat-Huutlag Hvory Night, llotr His Watchman of Carpet Faetor7 Gathered Toirolher it Mletit Arnij of Fellnoi IIundrcMla or llata Killed In a Few Momenta. Thoro is a big carpet factory at tho foot of West Forty-third trcot, says tho Now York Sun. Tho firm has plonty of brains to know what it needs, and plenty of monoy to procure it. But thoro is ono thing tho mombors. of tho firm can't do in splto of all their brains and monoy. Tlioy can't keop rats out of thoir wool, and their falluro in this respect re-spect costs thorn many thousands of dollars. dol-lars. Thoy havo two big storehouses, that woro built with an oyo to protection protec-tion against rats. Tho foundations run down many fcot, tbo floors aro ot solid cemont, and tho walls aro of brick. Tho valuo of tho wool stored in thcso two buildings is sometimes as much as 31,000,000. Much of it Is tho finest that can bo got. Tho rats don't know ono kind from another, perhaps, but it nearly near-ly always happens that as much ot thts selected wool Is ruined ovory night as of tho ohoapor kind. Whon thick walls and many watchmen watch-men failod to dotcat tho rats It was do-cldod do-cldod to soo what an army of cats would do. Cats woro invited to tho factory yard by moans of many pounds of fresh meat sot out as froo lunch ovory day. Tho invitation soon became known toall tho cats in tho neighborhood. Thoy all responded, but tho firm soon dlscovorod that thoy needed training, for tho mo-rnont mo-rnont tho lunch was ovor thoy trotted domuroly away, and woro soon no more until tho noxt day. Tho watchman who Is on duty at night began making frionds of thorn, and protty soon ho was at llborty to approach any of them without with-out fear ot gottlng scratched or of frtghtoning them away. Whon this stago was reached, tho big doors ot tho factory yard woro closod ono day and tho cats woro prihonors. Thoy didn't Uko it very much, but thoir embarrassment embarrass-ment disappeared under tho tondor trcatmont of tho watchman, and thoy soon becanio reconciled to tho situation. It Is necessary for tho watchman to mako a tour of all tho buildings at short intervals during tho night, nnd tho object ob-ject was to got tho cats to soarch tho buildings boforo ho ontorod and fright-died fright-died tho rodents by hls.troad. It didn't tako much practice boforo tbo cats understood un-derstood that a rapid journoy through tho buildings at night was pretty suro to result In an ontertalnlng scrap with Botna big rat, and as tho timo for tho journey was about tho tlmo wbon'thoy wero roady for somotbing moro to oat, thoy ontorod into tho thing with groat spirit.' Then It happonod that as soon as night carao and tho many hundreds of ojnploycs had trooped out and tho watchman began rigging up his lantern for tho nlgh's vigil thp oats would gathor about him in a groat aw arm. mowing nnd jumping up eagerly. At i ""!, ftr ibout two hundrod cats on duty In tho factory, and It is a plcturobquo thing to boo tho watchman start from tho ofllco door and Btrldo down into tho hlauk cavern of tho yard with tho cats streaming out bohind him llko tho outstretched tall of a korso, thoso nearest him jumping about hla legs and rubbing their bodies purrlngly against him. When tho watchman roaches tho door leading into tho first factory and begins fumbling with his ring of koys tho cats surround him, and tho moment tho door swings hack thoy burst into tho building llko a groat wavo that has burst Its dam, and run ovor tho wholo building as nolsolossly and swiftly swift-ly as water runs. Tho watchman stands below In tho doorwoy awaiting them. Occasionally ho hoars a sudden rush, a fow sharp gr.iwls. a frlghtonod squeak or two, and thon ho knows that tho cats have found a victim. It somotlmes happens that a rat weighing as much as flvo pounds Is klllod. Of courso ono cat couldn't mastor a big follow llko this, and his death proves that tho cats aro on good terms, and that thoy stick togotbor In a fight. Thcso big follows aro dock rats who como up from tho water In search of a change of food. Whon a cat runs a rat Into a holo tho othor cats sproad out llko sontlnols nnd guard all tho pass-sages pass-sages leading from It. Thon tho watoh-man watoh-man cither turns tho balo over or pokes tho rat out with astiok.and thomomont ho makes a break for llborty, that moment mo-ment ho is gobblod up. Hut in splto of all this vigilanco and caro, o cry morning tho workmon find wool sproad ovor tho floor that has beon torn from tho bales by tho rats, and that muoh Is draggod out of tho building thoro can bo no doubt. It may bo that in tlmo tho cats will succeed In killing all tbo rats or in frlghtonlng thom oif. As It Is, many oro killed, buttholrplacos socm to bo takon by otbors. Just now tho watchman Is grlovlng ovor tho loss of ono big- cat that was a mighty kllior of rats, und usually led tho chargo against tho very big follows. Ho was troublod with fioas, and tbo watchman, to rollovo him of them, sprlnklod him with flea powdor. Tbo cat didn't llko to bo In a sollod stato, and so romovod tho powdor In tho way usual to cats, and diod. J V . I tit sk A 1-t, 1-t, J VJf |
