"His first impulse was to brain the pest with a base ball bat."

The drunk editors of the Brooklyn Daily Eagle published an important medical story in the April 17, 1898 edition, which originally ran in the Philadelphia Times. The piece in full:

“A rat with a wooden leg is a curiosity as curiosities go nowadays. Yet such an animal can be seen any day at the residence of a man named Dugmore, in the southwestern section of the city. About a month ago, Willie Dugmore, a lad of 12 years, found the little rodent trapped in the cellar. His first impulse was to brain the pest with a base ball bat, but the rat looked at him so pleadingly that Willie’s heart was touched and he decided to take the trap to an adjoining vacant lot and liberate the animal. This he did, but instead of scampering off, as he expected, the rat limped painfully up to him and began to lick his hand. Willie then discovered that one of the animal’s legs had been almost severed by the trap. Taking the rat home, he cut the leg off and then bandaged the wound, using as a liniment a little vaseline. He then put the rat into a cage and carefully fed and nursed it for a week. He then removed the bandage and found that the wound had completely healed. The rat was, however, unable to walk, and Willie decided he would make for it an artificial leg. Going down to the cellar he obtained a piece of pine, and after some whittling succeeded in making a leg. This he fastened on with a string and was delighted to see that his plan was entirely successful. The rat is now the family pet and can be seen any day hobbling about the kitchen or teasing a little Irish terrier, of which it has made a lifelong friend.”