The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1899-08-07
WOOD RAT A THIEF.
How a FOur-Footed Robber Nearly Breke
Up u Camp.

You wouldn't think now" said re-
turned camper, THAT a plain rat could
almost break up camp and make old
friends look askanCe at one another:
but 1t is fact, and since I've been
looking into the question I've heard OF
several cases where rat might have
sent man to Jail.
1T was this way A dozen or more of
US so camping every year up in the
mountains. Sometimes we camp out
ana pitch tent and sometimes we live
in little log house on mesa that
reaches out into the san Gabriel can
yon. This cabin is just log affair
under the oaks, with row of hunks
all around and big fireplace that is in
itself solace to the weary fisherman.
This year we had man to do the
heavy work about the camp, one of
these Dago red fellows, a woodchopper
by profession. He was, of course al
ways about the place. So when l
missed four candles one night and
Jimpkins lost his tobacco and some one
else paper of hooks, we began to
make up our minds that the Dago was
working us, and in a Cold-blooded way
at that. But we said nothing, just
watched him, and when we found that
he didn't smoke thai rather nonplussed
US. The next night my tooth brush
disappeared and another candle, but
following night five or six cards out of
a pack disappeared, and a box of pat
ent California matches, the kind that
look like silver cut out of block and
smell like the mouth Of a volcano when
the sulphur is blowing your way
well, we made up our minds that
the Dago was the thief, and opinions
were divided as to whether he was a
kleptomaniac or plain thief; so we de-
termined to send him off on an e1rand
and then search his tent. We sent him
down to another camp, and when he
had passed the bend we went into his
tent and made thorough search, but
found absolutely nothing. We had
wronged the man unless he carried the
stolen goods with him or concealed
them somewhere, but this seemed i'm
probable. The next night another can
die disappeared, also a corkscrew ana
number of small things. and as the
door had been locked it became evident
| that the thief was on the inside. While
we knew it was nonsense, thing that
every man there felt that possibly
some other fellow had developed a
streak of kleptomania. The only thing
to do was to watch; 50 | took it upon
myself to go into the detective business,
and when we turned in | pretended to
sleep, and waited to see what would
turn up. Nothing happened for an
hourand then every man in the camp
was fast asleep, some snoring as hard
as they could.
LAS / lay there watching the dying
embers and the snoring suspects it &C.
| Cured to me all at once that perhaps
| one of us was q somnambulist and took
| the things in his sleep I had heard Of
such cases. I was passing this over in
my mind when / noticed something
| moving on the table where we had been
| playing cards. The light from the fire
! illumined it very plainly and / saw
| that it was some kind of animal about
| the size of a rat. AS | looked another
appeared, having evidently climbed up
the table cloth that hung to the floor.
The next thing that I noticed was a
| card waving in the air; then it seemed
| to pass dawn the table; then a candle
mysteriously disappeared from the
| three nails that constituted the candle
stick. First thought l was dreaming,
then I saw something climbing the wall,
and where the light cleaned out
strongly on the beam l saw two rats
walking along, one with a candle in its