The Meeker herald. [volume] (Meeker, Colo.) 1885-current, 1893-03-18
WOOD RATS BIG NEs7'.
4 Description of This Queer Article OF
Freight From AIissa.
For q queer and unusual article o


Freight From Al,ska.
For queer and unusual article Of
frciah. q rats nest can hardly be ex-
rclled. especially the nest of wood
rat that was built by those strange
little animal architects in far-oif
Alaska. and which was shipped in
large freight car at the loading sheds
lately fol. the Smithsonian institute
at " ashington. says the San Francisco
Examiner. Only one available car
for. the purpose could be found by MIR.
Anthony. so large and cumbersome
was the nest. it being approximately
cone shaped, seven feet in height and
with an irregular. broad base ten feet
wide at one end aud about six feet at
the other. With its crate OF light
frame work it weighed $50 pounds.
and Il big New York Central furniture
ear with wide doors and high roof
solved the problem that Mr.. Anthony
had been vexed with for couple OF
DAYS as to how he was going to send
it East.
| OF course. neither the wood-rat nor
his nest is very uncommon sight,
but the one in question is however,
on account of its height and size. and,
like many other nests of these rats,
is a most interesting sight to many
who have never seen one of them ana
IL study to everybody for the intelli-
gence and design displayed in its con-
f, struction.
| The nest at the first glance is APP
parently huge pile of small
branches. twigs. leaves and grasses
imbedded in clay and hard, dry
humps in chunks of mud. The odor
of dry grasses and dull, whitish mud
or clay predominated, and on close
inspection it could be seen that the
| little Alaskan rodents had evidently
laid every twig and piece of wood and
every branch Of grass and leaves with
| nicely ana according to well-de-
| fined plan that would cause the winds
/ and rains and the storms to beat
against it without avail. AS is their
practice. it has been built up against
Il number of small trees standing
| close together in dense underbrush,
and its sides We're solid compact and
| waterproof.
| AT the narrow end OF its base or
foundation was small opening or
door into this tiny castle. where prob
| ably ii couple OF hundred rats Were wont
| to make their home. 1t was no doubt
big enough for that purpose, because
the inside of the nest was filled with
large number of pouches or little
rooms. each one leading from an
opening and upon rude climbing and
winding stairway clear up to the apex
of the nest The pouches are ali
lined with soft grasses and leaves,
and some of them had a lot of iur or
hair in them. for these little animals
often pull out their own fur to make
, warm beds for their young. They
have been known to pull their fur
from their bodies by the mouthful in
order to fit up the pouches as snugly
had evidently been done by some Of
the rats that had occupied the nest
in question. Judging by the amount
of fur in it.
Rats nests not being down in the
freight classification OF the railroads.
Mr.. Stubbs. who the day before had
classified the tiger. rhinoceros. tapir.
ohaetah, ornng-ontang and the forty
/ nine monkeys that recently arrived
by steamer China en- route to ST.
Louis forsBarnum and Bailey's circus
as carload of race horses, with Il
maximum value of 800 for each ami
NAL and $50 for each monkey in case
Of death by derailment,' puzzled his
brain as to whether the nest should
not be classified as portable house.
Mr.. Stubs has a portable house rate
which would put plumbers bill to
shame. but even with Il traffic officials
license, which, like poetic license
covers multitude of Inconsistencies
or mistakes. he could not make =
portable house out of the nest. So
it was given car all to itself at first
class freight rate.