THE SECRET SOCIETY OF THE RAT

Hawke's Bay Herald-Tribune, Issue 113, 29 May 1937, Page 11

THE SECRET SOCIETY OF THE RAT

^"ERY little is known about the life of the xat, their social structure and habits, writes Robert Goffin in "The Romance of the Rat." They are nocturnal creatures, hiding in places that are proof against the curiosity of man. But the little that has come to our knowledge leads us to surmise that the world of rats is one of secret societies, a sort of freemasonry of darlcness, witlj its leaders and rites, its initiations and secTets. A tacit understanding holds the creatures together and makes them unite in enormous armies against man, the evil genius to be feared because of his intelligence, treachery and tenacity. We may take it for granted that one of the first things the old rat teaches her offspring is how to mistrust and avoid man. We shouldn't wonder, however, if the fcelings which the rat has for man were mingled with a strong dose of contempt. For is it not true that in the age-old struggle • between man and Tat, which began almost at the dawn of history, the rat proved to be more intelligent than man, since it still thrives on hiin'in spite of all his efforts to exterminate it? We do not lcnow by what immemorial traditions the privileges and duties and functions of the various xat tribes are ruled. The surmulot 0r Norway oi" grey Tat (Mus decumanus), or as the Germans call it "wandering rat," is an excellent swimmer and diver. Therefore it began by monopolising for itself the immediate environment of rivers and canals, of docks and wharves, of sewers and cesspools, iu general of all the deposits of Iiquid and m other filth. Its coprophagous habits compel it to seelc the proxi'mity of places where it might at any moment enjoy pestiferous emanations and nauseous breezes, that are balm to its extraordinarly developed nose. Tho blacjc rat seems to have tied its fate to the human destinies once for all. It needs the contact of man, the smell of his body, dead or alivc, while the grey rat circulates under us and keep.s as far away as possible. It is more savage and ferocious. and docs not casily become familiar with us. At

THE GREAT MIGRATIONS More Intelligent Than Man

the same time, however, even the grey rat has perfect knowledge of our ways and habits and turns this knowledge to advantage for itself. Almost every century has known its great migrations of the. rat folk. Independently from these mass movements, however, there are the seasonal movements, the marches which recur regularly, with infallible punctuality, year in and year out, from generation to generation of rats. Sometimes it is the weather which causes these migrations, sometimes the quest for food. The fisherfolk on the , coast of France and Belgium mai^ain that the rats lcnoyr the .beginning and end of the fishing season to the day, because of the considerable quantities of refuse whieh accumulat'e during that period. English seientists found that the migrations of rats from the interior to the coast' always' take place' at certain set dates. Apparently the rats-of the hinterland know . _ and hereditarily transmit to their offspring the knowledge of the * approximate date when fierring fishing starts all along the coasts of the British Isles. Refuse of herring is one of their favourite dishes. As soon as the peak of the fishing season is passed, the rats begin to wander back to tho interior in stages, marching . during the niglit and sometimes covering 70 and more miles. Generally spcaking, tlie life of the rat, like that of all animal species, is dominated by the great driving force Hunger. The rat goes where it cxpects to find more food. Noxt to hunger, the sex impulse it is great motive force. Tho voracity of the rats, especially of tho grey species, is a perpetual menace to other creatures. They attack young hares and Tabbits in their lairs; they rob the nests o.f pheasants,

quails and partridges; they drag away and drown young dueks; they pillage chicken-eoops and dove-cotes; they gnaw the palmar membranes of domestic fowl; they attack hogs that are too fat to def end themselves, they dismember and clean up carcasses. All night they rob and plunder and devour, to sleep all day, filled to satiety and contented. Rats are cruel, bloodthirsty and Tuthless toward their fellow-beings, no less than. men. J ealousy, which so often arms the hand of man, causes the male rats to fight among themselves to the bitter end at mating time,' for a female which then graciously yields to the victor. Driven by hunger; rats will nnhesitatingly attack the weaker specimens of their tribe. Should this surprise us when we know that there still are human beings in the world who practise cannibalism as a virtue? We are very far away yet quite near to the rat on the ladder of animal creation. We are ourselves only just beginning to emerge from the mist and. darlcness of tho remote age, when all species, from insect to man, were grouped under a common denoininator of vice, instinct, ferocity and heredity. Having exterminated the brown ra in centuries gone by, the victonious blaek rat took possession of the aTTandoned territories and settled doWn to a period of peace and prosperity, during which the species became "soft" and less cruel. This lasted until one day the Jegions of grey rats began to ilock from theiir native eteppes of Asia and move westward, crossing streams, occupying harbours and imposing tribute upon the countryside, until they reached the strongholds of the . former victors. A ruthless war between right and violcnce began. Tho invaders were

stronger, more cruel and dacring than the rightful occupants. The blaek Tats were faster and more agile but these qualities proved helpful merely ' on their flight before the. aggressor. Farther and farther they retreated and finally established themselves in reservations, diffieult of access to the savage and intrepid grey fiends. The ways and habits of the grey rat gradually changed from generation to generation, from slege to siege, from attack to attack. Their audacity born from ever new victories drove them farther and farther west. They elaborated a technique which permitted sudden surprise attacke on the- blaek rats,-ending wi,th the latter 's extermination. Circumstances compelled the survivors to adapt themselves to this new life of danger and hiding. As they began to recover from the catastrophe that had befallen them and find their way to one another, single groups envisaged the ad.visabijity of emigrating toward new destinabions. Taking advantage of their agility and snppleness they did eomething whieh the grey rats would never have dared; they invaded the ships, where they had no difficulty in climbing up and down the rigging. Soon they began to swarm in territories > not hitherto conquered, f orming currents even in the midst of the settlements of the grey Tat, moving at a .faster or slower pace, for xeasons which we have not as yet succeeded in diiscovcring. In Englaud they thought toward the middle of the past century that the blaek rat had disappeared entirely, like its predecessor, the brown Tat. Experience was so»n to prove, however, that the blaek rat had very intelligently estimated the situation corrcct]y and organised its existence in a raanner that permitted it to stay beyond the reach of the wicket grey rat. Nevertheless, fierce battles continued to rage in 'the rat territories of Europe. The blaek rat readjusted itself very rapidly and rcorganised its colonies. On tho other hand tho new building technique, rat-proofing and the use of concrete foundations, dealt a hard blow to the grey rat • and compelled it to vacate certain cities or city distriqts, thereby giving a new chance to the blaek rat.