If I was uncomfortable before with the presence of a single rat, how
much more uneasy was I with the knowledge that a whole gang of these
disgusting animals was in my neighbourhood! There must be a still
greater number than those I had just routed; for before closing up the
aperture with my jacket, I had still heard others squeaking and scraping
on the boards outside. Like enough there were scores of them; for I had
heard that in many ships such vermin abound, finding a secure
hiding-place in the numerous crevices among the timbers of the hold. I
had heard, moreover, that these ship-rats are the fiercest of their
kind, and when driven to extremes by hunger--which is not unfrequently
the case--will not hesitate to attack living creatures, and show but
little fear of either cat or dog. They often commit extensive damage
upon articles of the cargo, and are thus a great nuisance in a ship,
especially when she has not been properly overhauled and cleaned out
before loading for a voyage. These ship-rats are the sort known as
"Norway rats," on account of a belief that they were first brought to
England in Norwegian ships; but whether they originated in Norway or
elsewhere, it matters little, as they are now universally distributed
over the whole globe, and I believe there is no part of the earth, where
ships have touched, that Norway rats are not found in abundance. If
Norway was in reality the country of their origin, then it follows that
all climes are alike to them, since they are especially abundant and
thriving in the hot tropical climates of America. Seaport towns in the
West Indies and the continents of both North and South America are
infested with them; and so great a nuisance are they deemed in some of
these places, that a "rat-bounty" is usually offered by the municipal
authorities for their destruction. Notwithstanding this premium for
killing them, they still exist in countless numbers, and the wooden
wharves of these American seaports appear to be their true _harbours of
refuge_!
The Norway rats are not individually large rats. Occasionally very
large ones are found among them, but these are exceptional cases. They
are in general less distinguished for size, than for a fierce and
spiteful disposition, combined with a great fecundity, which of course
renders them exceedingly numerous and troublesome. It has been observed
that wherever they make their appearance, in a few years the rats of all
other species disappear; and it is therefore conjectured that the Norway
rats destroy the other kinds! Weazels are no match for them--for what
they lack in individual strength is amply compensated for by their
numbers--and in these hot countries they outnumber their enemies in the
proportion of hundreds to one. Even cats are afraid of them; and in
many parts of the world the cats will shy away from an encounter with
Norway rats, choosing for their prey some victim of a milder
disposition. Even large dogs, unless specially set on, will prefer to
pass and give them a wide berth.
One fact about the Norway rat is peculiar: it appears to know when it
possesses the advantage. Where they are but few and in danger of being
destroyed, they are timid enough; but in those countries where they are
allowed to increase, they become emboldened by impunity, and are much
less awed by the presence of man. In the seaports of some tropical
countries they will scarce take the precaution to hide themselves; and
on moonlight nights, when they come out in great numbers, they hardly
deign to turn aside out of the way of the passenger. They will just
creep a little to one side, and then close up behind the heels of any
one who may be passing along. Such creatures are the Norway rats.
I was not acquainted with all these facts at the time of my adventure
with the rats in the ship _Inca_; but I knew enough, even then, from
sailors' yarns I had heard, to make me very uncomfortable at the
presence of so many of these ugly animals; and, after I had succeeded in
driving them out of my little chamber, I was far from being easy in my
mind. I felt almost certain they would return again, and perhaps in
greater force than ever. Perhaps they would become hungered during the
voyage, and consequently bolder and fiercer--bold enough to attack me.
Even then, I thought that they had appeared by no means afraid of me.
Though with my shouts and violent efforts I had forced them out, I could
still hear them near at hand, scampering about and squeaking to one
another. What if they were already half famished and meditating an
attack upon me! From facts that I had heard of, the thing was not very
improbable; and I need hardly say that the very suspicion of such a
probability made a most painful impression upon me. The thought of
being killed and devoured by these horrid creatures, caused within me a
feeling of dread far greater than I had felt when I was anticipating
death by being drowned. I should have preferred drowning to a death
like that; and when for a moment I dwelt upon the probability of such a
fate, the blood ran coldly through my veins, and the hair seemed to
stiffen upon my scalp.
For some minutes I sat, or rather knelt (for I was upon my knees while
striking around me with the jacket), not knowing what course to follow.
I still believed that the rats would not have the boldness to approach
me, so long as I remained awake and could defend myself. But how would
it be were I to go to sleep again? Then, indeed, they might be
encouraged to attack me, and once they had got their teeth into my
flesh, they might resemble the tiger, who, having tasted blood, is not
satisfied till he has destroyed his victim. I dared not go to sleep.
And yet I could not always keep awake. Sleep would in time overpower
me, and I should have to yield to it in the end. The longer I struggled
against it, the deeper the sleep that would follow; and perhaps I might
fall into some profound slumber from which I might never awake--some
terrible "nightmare" that would bind me beyond the power of moving, and
thus render me an easy prey to the voracious monsters that surrounded
me!
For a short while I suffered these painful apprehensions, but soon an
idea came into my mind that gave me relief; and that was, to replace my
jacket in the crevice through which the rats had entered, and thus shut
them out altogether.
It was certainly a very simple way of getting over the difficulty; and,
no doubt, it would have occurred to me sooner--that is, when the first
and second rats had been troubling me--but then I thought there were but
the two, and I might settle with them in a different way. Now, however,
the case was different. To destroy all the rats that were in the hold
of that ship would be a serious undertaking, if not an impossibility,
and I no longer thought of such a thing. The best plan, therefore,
would be that which I had now hit upon: to stop up the main aperture,
and also every other through which a rat could possibly squeeze his
body, and thus be at once secured against either their intrusion or
their attacks.
Without further delay, I "plugged" up the crevice with my jacket; and,
wondering that I had not thought of this simple plan before, I laid me
down--this time with a full confidence that I might sleep undisturbed,
as long as I should feel the necessity or inclination.