Weekly Trinity journal., 1874-09-05
THE CALIFORNIA WOOD RAT.

In recent number of the american
Journal is an extract from a letter from
Capt. A. w. Chase, of the U. S. Coast
Survey, concerning the habits Of the So
called California wood rat:
1t is little larger than an ordinary
Norway rat, dark brown in color, with
large lustrous eyes, and tail covered
with thin hairs. should call it interme-
diate between the squirrel and rat. This
creature builds its nest in the woods.
sometimes on the ground, more frequent
~ in the lower branches of trees. They
accumulate a surprising quantity of dried
twgs, which they interace to form =
dome-shaped structure, often 10 or IL
feet high and six or eight feet in dame
ter.
Openings in the mass lead to the CEN
ter, where is found the nest, consisting OF
the finely divided inner bark of trees,
dried grass, etc But it Is to the thievish
propensity of this little creature that
wish to call attention. To make my sto-
ry Ineligible, would state that | am
partial owner of some property on the
Oregon coast, ON which saw mill had
been placed, but which, owing to various
causes, has never been in operation. On
this property was a dwelling house for the
hands, in which, on work being discon.
tinucd, were stored n quantity Of stuff.
tools, packing for The engine, six or seven
kegs of spikes in the closets, knives,
forks, spoons, etc. A large cooking
stove was left in one Of the rooms.
This house was left uninhabited for
two years, and, being at some distance
from the little settlement, 1t was frequent
ly broken into by tramps who sought
shelter for the night. When l entered
this house | was astonishcd to see All i'm
mense rats nest on the empty stove. On
examining this nest, which was about
five feet in hight and occupied the whole
top Of the stove "a large range), l found
the outside to DO composed entirely Of
spikes, all laid with symmetry so as to
present tho point Of the nails outward.
In the center Of this mass was the nest,
composed of finely divided flbres of hemp
packing. lnteraced with the spikes, We
found the following; About three dozen
knives, forks and spoons, all the butcher
knives, three in number, n large carving
knife, fork and steel several large plugs
Of tobacco the outside casing Of "A silver
watch was disposed of in ono part Of the
pile, the glass of the same watch In an
other, and the works in still another an
old purse containing some silver, match
es, and tobacco nearly all the small
tools from the tool closets, among them
several large augers. Altogether, 1t was
II very curious mixture Of different arti-
cles, all Of which mus. have been trans-
ported some distance, rs they were orig
inally stored In different parts Of the
house.
The ingenuity and skill displayed in
construction of this nest and the curl
Gus taste for articles Of iron, many Of
them heavy, for component parts, struck
me with surprise. The articles Of value
were, | think, stolen from the men who
had broken into tho house Tor temporary
lodging. | have preserved sketch Of
this ironclad nest. which | think unique
in natural history. Many curious facts
have since been related to me, concern
ing the habits Of this little creature. A
miner told me the following: He once,
during the mining excitement in Siskiyou
county, became in California parlance
"dead broke," and applied for and Oh
tanned employment in a mining camp.
where the owners, hands and all slept in
the same cabin. Shortly after his arri.
/ val small articles commenced to disap-
pear if u whole plug OF tobacco was left
on the table, it would be gone in the
morning, Finally, u bag containing ono
hundred or more dollars In gold dust,
was taken from q small table at the head
/ OF "A "bunk " in which one Of the propri-
etors Of the claim slept. Suspicion fell on
! the new conner, and he would have per-
hups Jared hardly, for, with those rough
miners, punishment is short and sharp
but, just in time, a large rats nest was
/ discovered in the garret Of the cabin, and
in it was found the missing money, as
well as the tobacco and other article,
supposed 10 have been stolen.