The Red Cloud chief., 1883-06-29

should never have seen any Of oar rom.
mon species- Il IL . Characteristic 81
the family. When they become crowd.
| ed. ind their homes inconvenieut o.
their supply of food Gu; Of. they move
Dur most common rat !. the brown on
Norway rat. mus decsmaass. The old
gray fellows. With scat. of hattie usual.
" looming mp prominently on them. arr
~ this species. W. are indebted Ia
Persia and India for them. Driven
from their native land by famine OF
some other local cause. they migrated
to Europe in the eighteenth century.
particularly in 1877. when large troops
II them crossed the volgs and made
Russia their own. From Russia they
spread NIL over Europe. and jus, before
the beginning 81 the Revolutionary war
they made their appearance in Amrr-
ca. having been brought here in ships.
Everywhere they drove out the black.
or English. rat. mus ranns. before
them. This i. al-o supposed tn b. II
A.iaiic origin. bu, IL. nativity j. not
known certainly. II was the house In,
IL Europe i'm very early times. and wa-
first noticed in America in l54i. IL j.
m inch or tive shorter than the Norway
rat. and j. not very common, - its
fierce Scandinavian cousin mike things
very unplcasant for IL. Our common
house mouse. mas Dascnisn. l. also n
foreigner. and probably from Asia -
well a. the other two. America boasts
n other Of the family from the old
country. This il the roof rat. or white
bcllied rat. mus tortorum. IL il com
mon in Mexico and the Southern States
n far north as North Carolina. ii j. a
native of Egypt. and derives it, name
from infes;ing the matched roofs ofthst
country.
Are there any rat. native to this
country? Certainly. The wood. are
full Of them. They are not often seen
about houses and never in cities. There
are some sixty or more species II them.
rats and mice together. Of which about
ten species are entitled TO be called rats.
from their size. Most Of them belong
To the Southern States. One well-known
species il the cotton rat, siJBodOn his
padns. Ii gets its name from It's habit
Of lining lis nest with cotton. IL is not
destructive, and does but little damage.
In Colorado the most common native
rat j. found I'm the wooded sections of
the mountains. II il about the size ii
the Norway rat and resembles il con,id-
erably. Its ears are large. however, and
its tail is covered with a dense fur. Its
English name Is the Rocky Mountain
rat, and scientifically il is neo;otna GIN
crca. Ii is strong, active and pugna-
cious. and with its appetite there are
few prospcctors who are not acquainted.
Like most Of the other members Of the
family. it is omnivorous. The indis-
eliminating burro itself could scarcely
get away with a larger quantity or great
or variety Of food than do these ami
mails. Among other edibles the writer
remembers with pain of contributing
TIVE pairs Of buckskin and n Of dog
skin gloves 10 their carnivals. Candles
are California fruit for tn I'm, and they
have often been known Ia get away
with giant powder when other proves
o were carce
There is another animal. often spoken
Of rs the mountain rat, which is COM
mos in this State. and which Is not n
rat ut all. Ii is found N America only
in the Rocky Mountains. from Colorado
northward. Its habitat is given in the
books rs being between the fortv-sccond
and siNtieth degrees Os north latitude.
but the writer has seen hundreds of
them in this State, and as far south Il,
the thirty-eighth parallel. II is from
W to nine inches in length; is gray
ish above. penciled with black and yell
lowish white. yellowish brown on the
sides, and n dirty yellowish white I'M
dernca.h. Ii has rounded ears. short
hind legs, and no visible tail. II lives
only in eleXated places. forming it,
home in loose heaps and slides of rock.
During the day. and especially toward
sunset, it has n habit Of pcrching itself
on some prominent piece of rock and ut
tering a blcating note. When annoyed
il repeats its note quickly and with Il
9uerulous accent. IL is wholly herbivo-
rous and belongs in the rabbit family.
Ii is properly known rs the Rocky
Mountain pika or Little Chief hare.
ldg0mys princcps. The miners some
times call them comics and sometime.
mountain rats. The animal may b,
definitely placed by its teeth. II has
five molars. above and below. on each
side. None Of the rats proper have
more than three.
There is only one other rat native OF
this State that is worthy of notice. and
il is the kangaroo-rat. dipOd0mps ortiz.
1t is small. only five inches i'm length.
and Is no very common. so much for
Colorado rats. In general there is much
that is interesting about them. There
are anecdotes innumerable about their
their ~fiercencss. and other
qualities, hut they can not be noticed
here. Besides it is almost impossible to
tell which Of them are true and which
are false. The Chinese and other
Asiatic peoples, particularly the lower
caste Hindoos, eat them. rs do also
many of the African tribes. Their
are used in the manufactures Of
delicate articles. especially for the
thumbs of Partisan Kid gloves. The
known rat is a native If India.
II atains q length Of thirteen inches.
with a tail Of equal length, and weighs
rs much rs three pounds. II is very
lie structive i'm gardens, and kills chick
and ducks. 1t has been known 10
houses with its burrows.
The teeth of rats are remarkably strong.
Gases have been known where they have
ynswed ivory. Although living usually
n filthy places. they are cleanly in their
persons, and clean themselves by lick
ng. as q cat does. When known and
fairly. they are not nearly
y bad as is commonly supposed
Tribune.