The Rat; Its History & Destructive Character. James Rodwell
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he was once an eyewitness to an act of affection on the part of a female rat; which he thought worth recording, more especially as the rat is considered to have little in its character to recommend it. Some persons, who were cutting a field of barley, mowed over a rat’s nest full of young ones, when the mother, who was suckling them, instead of running away, remained in the nest, and, in her anxiety for their preservation, actually laid so fast hold of the scythe that she was obliged to be shaken off. This nest was made in a slight depression of the ground, and not under the ground, as usually is the case.
The same gentleman gives another instance of considerable cunning and courage evinced by a water-rat. He was walking by a brook one day, and saw a water-rat run past on the opposite bank in great haste. Almost immediately afterwards came a very fine stoat, hot in pursuit, but evidently running by scent. Backwards and forwards ran both animals within a certain space for upwards of ten minutes, when both made a dead pause within a yard of each other, and he expected to see the rat fall a prey every moment. But such was not the case; for, in an instant, she rushed forward upon the stoat with such open-mouthed fury, that he ran away, and she in turn became the pursuer; nor was she content until she had driven her voracious enemy fairly out of the neighbourhood. There is no doubt that the rat was a female which had young, and was prompted by maternal affection to display the courage she did. But what surprised him was, that she never retreated to a hole, or dived under water, which would have been an almost certain mode of escaping danger; but that would not have prevented her wily enemy from scenting out her young.
The same writer gives another instance of intense affection in the rat. Some gintraps were set for the purpose of taking vermin. On the following morning a large female rat was discovered in one of them, caught by one of her fore legs, but squatting over a nest containing six young ones. The poor animal, regardless of all pain, during the previous night had actually, with the fore paw which was at liberty, and probably with the assistance of the hind feet, contrived to scrape together a quantity of the neighbouring grass, and formed the nest,—thus providing for the warmth and comfort of her young, although she was tortured with iron teeth, and almost disabled by her position in the trap.
Of the unqualified affection of a rat for her young, I was witness to a most interesting and curious instance. I had a sort of compound collection, half aviary and half menagerie. My stock was composed of rabbits, pigeons, ferrets, fowls, cats, dogs, white mice, hedgehogs, guinea-pigs, and canaries. Besides these there was a host of native song-birds and a cock pheasant. I did not keep them like the happy family, all together, but in separate departments. Among these I had an enormous polecat ferret, blind in one eye. He was perhaps the largest ferret I ever saw, and was so tame and attached, that he would follow me in the streets, or anywhere else, like a little dog. In the fields I often used to amuse myself by running away, and giving him the trouble to find me out; still I never was afraid of losing him, because he always wore a small collar round his neck, with a little bell attached to it. However, we were out together one summer’s evening, in a meadow, which on one end and side is skirted by a river, and on the other by thick hedges. I was lounging carelessly on, when I heard the ferret make an extraordinary loud chattering noise, something between a cackle and a bark, or rather just such a noise as a monkey will make, when some mischievous boys have his tail through the cage, and are tying it tight in a knot—I instantly ran back, and found him in the ditch, in a state of perfect confusion, and bleeding terribly from the nose. I fancied I saw something disappear, but what I could not tell; yet seeing him bleed so profusely, I imagined he must have run a spike into his nose, having recently seen some set in a game-preserve for the purpose of killing dogs as they jumped through the gaps in the hedges. I paused for a moment, and soon found by his action that there was some game at hand. Presently he sniffed about, and made his way carefully to a bundle of dried grass, leaves, &c., in the hedge-bottom at the root of a bush. When, quick as lightning, out dashed a rat at him, and as quickly disappeared. But what with the smart of the bite, and the force she came with, it threw him fairly on his back. Oh, thought I, here’s some sport! He soon recovered himself, though bleeding from a second wound. He made another attempt with the same result, and another bleeding wound. Thus he approached six or seven times with the same consequences. Whether or not she got on the blind side of him I cannot say; but with the stick I had in my hand I determined on dislodging her ladyship; so with the hookey end I forthwith turned over the bundle of dried grass, &c., which parted in the middle, and lifted up like the lid of a box; when lo, and behold! there she sat fondling over a host of naked, blind young ones, about three or four days old. The sudden appearance of daylight seemed at first to bewilder the poor creature; but she soon recovered, and began licking her offspring, yet looked unconscious of what she was doing, for her eyes were fixed most piercingly on the ferret. He was sniffing about, yet creeping stealthily nearer and nearer; but when he came within a certain distance, out she dashed at him, and knocked him over again; this she repeated three or four times, each time inflicting a fresh wound, until the ferret was bleeding from all points, which made him extremely cautious; and it was some time before he would venture again within certain limits. In the mean time the poor rat was licking and fondling over her young, as if to persuade them that they were all safe, and that there was no danger at hand. By this time, the ferret, gathering himself up for mischief, pressed boldly forward—when out she dashed at him; but two of her young ones were hanging to her teats, which I suppose broke her spring; they fell off, helplessly sprawling on their backs, and she got into the ferret’s clutches. He had seized her by the skin of the back, and was cuddling her up in his deadly grasp, which was too much for me. The idea of so spirited a creature, which had beat off a much larger and deadly enemy so many times, becoming a prey to his fangs, and leaving twelve poor little blind sucklings without a mother, needed no further argument; so into the ditch I jumped, and taking the ferret by the tail, laid them on the bank, and thrust the small end of my stick into his mouth, and, by giving it a slight wrench, allowed the rat to get loose; but, instead of running off directly to her young as I expected, she turned upon the ferret again and again, a perfect little vixen, and bit him most severely before I could get out of the ditch: it was very evident that she had made up her mind to a life-and-death battle. I kept hold of the ferret’s tail, which very much impeded his action; but no sooner was I fairly landed than I suspended him in the air at arm’s length. The rat sprang up five or six times, but could not reach him; when, all in an instant, like a squirrel, she ran up my leg and body, then along my arm, and dropping on him, gave him another bite and fell. This I thought anything but fair play; so when she attempted it a second time I brushed her off, and there she stood, with her head and mane up, which looked like a black line down her back; and her pretty black eyes flashed defiance at the pair of us. Indeed I apprehended she would lay hold of me; so, to divert her attention, I touched her with the stick, which she furiously bit through, and then ran off to her young. With this I left her mistress of the field, and felt perfectly delighted at the courage she had displayed in defence of her young.
I made it a daily practice, for about a month, to supply this little heroine with food; at the expiration of which time, as I passed down the hedge-side, there I saw the twelve young ones, and fine fat fellows they were; but no sooner did they espy me than up the bank they ran, showing their little white tails and feet. Through the hedge they rustled into the cornfields, and I never afterwards saw anything more of them.
CHAPTER IV.
TAME RATS.
INSTANCES of tame rats are by no means rare, or of their becoming gentle and attached to those who feed and caress them. Mr. Bell says, that although the disposition of the rat appears to be naturally very ferocious, still there are instances on record of its evincing considerable attachment not only to its own species but to mankind also; and, no doubt, were not rats held in such universal detestation, the taming of them would be an amusement often indulged in. I have seen numbers of them, at various times, as tame as rabbits; but more especially in the Happy Family, of which I have already spoken, and which may be seen daily in the streets of London. The proprietor will handle and play with them without the least concern, and the little creatures seem quite pleased with his condescension. I called upon him twice, for the purpose of satisfying myself upon two points. The first was, to ascertain