The Wellington enterprise. [volume] (Wellington, Ohio) 1867-188?, 1884-11-05
YARNS ABOUT RODENTS
THE WOOD RAT IRREcLAIMAsLY BAD.
Tho characteristics Which Distinguish
the Colorado variety-A Natu-
raj Born and Irrepres-
slble Thief.
IN. Y. Star.l

In. L. pVhf.l
81 don't know whether people out In
Colorado are bothered with what we used
to call wood rats" said former residen!
Of that State, "but few years ago, when
first went out there, they kept US in q
perpetual stew. The wood-rat is nat
ural born irreclaimable thief. What he
steals for no one had ever found outwhile
Twas there, for he don't crib things to eat,
and he distributes his booty about the
country without any regard to his person
al bene ct. When he steals something
from one spot he will put In its place some
article he has fllched from another. re-
member once was building shanty out
in Pueblo, and had keg of nails sent in
from Denver. Work had been at a
standstill for day or SO for want of
them. knocked the head out, and left
them in tho shanty over night. Next
morning there wasn't nail in the keg,
but in their place was miscellaneous
collection OF articles, consisting OF table
knives. spoons, tin saucer, several
stones, a number OF chips, q buckskin
glove, and, worst of all, set of false
teeth.
ave knew at once that the mischievous
rats had been at work, and ! set out to see
II could gather up at least a portion OF
my nails about the neighborhood. found
q man who had lost spoon and had found
pile of nails in this kit. The owner of
the buckskin glove had not been remuner-
nted for his loss with nails, but some ones
wooden sock lay in its place. By and by
the whole community were out looking up
missing things and dumping nails at my
shanty. / got back about half Of them,
and the articles that had been left in their
place were all restored to their owners ex.
cept the false teeth. No one in the whole
neighborhood had lost any teeth. The
finding o. the teeth came to be the talk OF
the country, and in a few weeks Judge
over in a town twenty miles away sent n
man over to look at them, as no thought
they might be a set Of teeth of his that had
mysteriously disappeared, stating that
they had been taken from a tumbler Of
water, in which they had been placed over
night, and that dead bird had been lef.
in their stead. The teeth proved to be the
| Judges. These rats must have had high
old time with the Judges teeth before
the reached my place and dumped them in
the nail keg.
alt used to be favorite pastime witt
the wood rats to carry all sorts Of refuse
and garbage into houses and scatter 1t
about. l have walked up more than
once to find some moist md swcot-
smelling morsel from tho swill tub ly-
ing across my face, or number Of
them piled on the bed covers. This pe'
cularily OF the wood rat naturally led
to constant annoyances and nssunder'
standings, and newcomers into the re.
gion, uuacquain ed with tho ways ot
the animal, were frequently mys.in ID,
and sometimes frightened by occdr.
rences. An Irish family once came TO
the neighborhood, where they had pur.
chased little property. They Lad not
been there week before the wool
rats paid them q visit. Denny Ryan,
the head of the family, placed his pipe
on the table. as usual on going 10 bed
ono night. When he arose In the morn
ing his pipe was gone, and lying whcrs
no had left It was tnllow candle.
Denny had no such thing as iallow
candle in his house, and no ono in
the house had touched the pipe. This
aroused his supcrstitiouJ nature. lie re.
lated the circumstances with much awe
10 some acquain;ances, who, seeing some
probable fun In store for them, did no.
intern him as TO the cause o. tbs mys'
terry. One morning, a lew days later,
D5nny found his lost pipo in his boot,
and the sock ho had left there when he
went to bed was gone. Denny declared
chat thero were ghosts in his hous'. He
was thoroughly frightened, and wanted
10 sell his property.
"A number OF Eastern men hal gyt
possession OF some land next to Dtnny's,
and his holding, they believed, would in
time be highly valuable TO them. Unknown
TO any OF Denny's acquaintance they
made him an offer for his property. 1t
was less than be had paid, and in spite OF
his superstitious fear about his house, he
declined to take IL. A day or two after
that Denny found his stove half full OF
potatoes, not one OF which had been in
the house before, and the kindling wool
he had placed in the stove the nigh. be-
tore was piled ON table In the sitting.
room. Without waiting TO entirely dress
himself lie hurried 10 the parties who
wanted TO buy his property and closed
and clinched the transaction at once.
When his friends, who had bsen keeping
Denny in ignorance OF the ways Of the
wood rat for the Joke Of the thing, heard
Of what he had been induced TO do by the
iharpers, they attempted to forcJ thom to
cancel the sale; but as everything thcy
had done was regular, they refused 10 do
It. Denny's friends, however, chpped in
and made up quito sum OF money for
him. II the wood rats hadn's bothered
Denny he would have been rich man in
year or so, for his property became worth
thousands OF dollars.
"The wood rat is about the size OF our
common house rat, with tail nine inches
long. II is gray on the back aud whito on
the belly. There's devlltry enough in 'em
10 fill woodcbuck. You seldom see ono
OF them, plenty as they are, for they lay
low In the daytime, and won't come fool.
Ing around at night II there Is any one
stirring about the house"