The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1897-02-13
THE TRADE RAT.
A Rohent Of Arizona That Could
Give Horse Trader Cards and
SPADES.

One of the animals enc hears most
about in the San Francisco mountain
region of Arizona is the trade rat. -
an original character, noted for strong
commercial proclivtties says Forest
and Stream. His one idea Of happiness
seems to be trade. He helps himself to
whatever takes his fancy, provided it
Is not too big fer him to handle, but
with scrupuloCs honesty he brings back
something to replace it. From some
points of view his trades may not be
quite fair, but they seem to satisfy the
conscience of the rat. The log house
where l boarded during the summer
had an outdoor cellar excaVated in the
side Of the hill a few rods away, and
almost every day when the ranchma n s
wife went out there she found freshly
cut golden rod or lurine blossoms scat
tered on the cellar ftyor, a spray here
and a spray there, brought in trade for
such useless articles as lemon, or a
cord by which the butter pail was
hung. Sometimes the rats come into
the house at night and carry off towels
and socks. replacing them with valu-
able pine chips and cones
The ranehman thought they had no
object in their collections, but traded
just for mischief, and brought in any
thing that was handy for them. al
Though he considered them partial to
lupines when they made their trades. -
He once took up a floor and found the
whole space between the ground and
the board-a space inches to II inches
deep, under a room fourteen feet
square-flled in tight with lupine. He
told me of his surprise.
Il took up one board and found quite
wad Of it, he said, and he sat down
beside the kitchen stove.
81 didn't expect to find any more, but
as l took up the boards found 1T COW
cred the whole floor, packed in tight
between the jcists and close up to the
floor; you couldn't have Wadded it in
there as tight with your hands; there
was all as much as a good-sized hay
cock, over 100 POUNDS of good cured
hay lupines, not disturbed, no leaves
eaten off. I didn't see them at it, but
1 knew it was their work.
They might have put it in to eat
and been 'ketched'" he concluded.
While the rats were storing lupines un-
and piled the fireplace full Of trash
chips, cones, papers and rags-carry-
ing beams, boxes Of matches and
whatever lay around in the hunks
even old suspenders and buttons. At
night he could hear them come drag
gin those weeds across the ceiling"
In the camps of the men who were
chopping railroad ties-the tie chopper
camps-the ranchman had often seen
the rats. He said
I've seen them sneak in. They're
cunning and sly. They'd come and lay
down what they had in their mouths
and look around to reconnoiter. They
have very intelligent look when they
come to look around, and if they
thought their way was clear they'd
grab up what they had and run. Some
times they'd cruise round the boxes.
They'd carry out anything except
what they'd brought ina darning
needle with thread in it, spools of
thread, bits Of candle pipes, pens and
I've found package of coffee out in the
middle of the room and could see
where they had hold Of it with their
teeth.
During the time they were annoying
us so much they were making a pile
down in the bottom of the cupboard
chips, stems of dry weeds and Irvine.
We had nothing in the cabin they d
eat, you know; they did 1t just for mis-
chief. They'd just come to ransack
around and carry away trinkets.
They took a pack of cards and put it
among the trash.
They never destroyed books or pa"
pers and never injured anything In
any way-just piledIft up Sometimes
they'd make a pile as big as bushel
basket-pile it up in atheap They'll
take anything they cant carry when
they get one Of their trading streaks.'