Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1899-07-29
WOOD RAT A THIEF,
How Four-Footed Robber Nearly
Broke Tn a Camp.

NN'''ieA N+aAfVis AheA Il pam rat could ai-
most break up camp and make old friends
look askance at one another; but it's a
fact, and since I've been looking into the
question I've heard Of several cases whore
rat might have sent a man to jail.
1t was this way. \ dozen or more OF liz
go camping every year up in the noun
tains. Sometimes We camp out and pitch
tent and sometimes We live in a little
log house On a mesa that reaches out into
the san Gabriel canon. This cabin Is lust
log aHair under the oaks with row
81 81 ouhks ail around and a big fireplace
lhat is IN Itself a solace to the weary fish,
erman. This year we had a man to do
me heavy work about the camp one Of
these Dago red fellows, a woodchnpper bv
procession he was Of course always about
the place. So when | missed four candies
one night and Jimpkins lost his tobacco and
some one else a paper of hooks we began
10 make up our minds the the Dago was
working us and in a cold-blooded way at
lnat. But we said nothing, Just watched
hin and when We found he didn't smoke
that rather nonplussed US The next night
my toothbrush disappeared and another
candle, but the Dago didn't use tooth
brushes. The following night five or six
CARDS out of pack disappeared and a
box OF patent California matches The kind
mat HOOK IKE slives cut out of block and
smell ike the mouth OF a volcano when he
sulphur Is blowing your way
wen, we made up our minds that the
Dago was the thief, and opinions were HI
Nidec as to whether he was a kleDtouapiac
OF pam thief; so we determined TO send
MN on on an errand and then search his
tent. We sent him down TO another rar,t,
and when he had passed the bend We went
INTO his tent and made a thor,ilrt s.a,.t,
put round absolutely nothing. We had
Wronged the man, unless he carried tba
stolen goods with him or concealed them
somewhere; but this seemed improbable.
me next night another candle dIsappaarsa
nm h.v ~
thlngs, and as the door had been locked n
became evident that the thief was on No
ihSice; Nhl!e We knew il was nonsense
lhlnk that every man there felF thar nos
sloly some other fellow had deve'nneB
Stfeak OF kleptomania. The only thing To
90 was TO watch: so / took IL uDon MYSELF
~ 20 INTO the detective business, and when
We turned IN l pretended to sleep and wait
ed to see what would turn IN Nothing
happened for an hour and then every man
In the camp was fast asleep, some snoring
as hard as they could
AS l lay there watching tho d,-f,,, ,,,,
bers and the snoring suspects Il occurred 70
me all at once that perhaps one Of us was
d somnamDulist and took the things in his
sleep had heard of such cases | was
passing this over in my mind when 7 no.
uced something moving on the table WHORE
We had been playing cards The li-ht from,
me IRE ihumined it very plainly. and I saw
tnat II was some kind Of animal about The
size of rat. As 1 looked another ap3ear-
ed, having evidently climbed I'D the table,
! cloth that hung to the floor. The NEXT
tnlhS noticed was a card waving In the
arr then 1t seemed to pass down the table.
then candle mysteriousIv dIs9nn.a,,ai
from the three nails thar constituted IN,
candlestick. First ! thought l was draar,,
ing; then 1 saw something climbing the
wall, and where the light CLEANED ont
strongly on the beam / saw two rafs ~. ~
ing along, one with a candle in its mouth
Inc other bearing card. They tr3,-al.i
the entire distance Of the room on the .,ir-
Is l-a.f1 HI
presently they came out again and went
pack Inc same way, and one climbed 1ipon
the table and began to drag at a notebook
which finally fell to the floor; then fba
other rat Went running along draegipr,
what sounded ike nail
by TINS time it had dawned upon me
VINO me THIEF was, and taking my pillow,
l let drive and brought the rat aud tba
nail down on the man I'm the ton har,L
Immediately the whole camp was in an ,rD-
roar, wanting to know what was the mat
ter. The rat had been knocked of on the
moor, ana before IL could escaDe 7 had ,t
and tossed il on the table ther, tol5 tba
story to my astonished felIow-campers
y es. II was wood rat as attractive a IfttIa
creature as you ever saw; little smaller
IMAM regular rat, with smooth hair and
bright, sparkling eyes. The next day We
tore away the wainscoting and behind il
found every article we had missed and a
great many We hadn't missed-a most re-
N arkable lot of stuff-all carried there bv
the rats. If ii had been food there would
nave been some excuse for IL, bur here we're
Things perfectly useless that the rats had
stolen merely to crafty their propensity
for stealing. When we had collected tba
plunder ii was regular museum and
showed remarkable variety of tastes
Ihere We're seven corks, one corkscrew with
big wooden handle, seventeen cards from,
various packs one checker half a dozen
nails toothbrush. one shaving brush a
coll OF wire, four or five pieces of bread
some crackers, a shoestrine a uiaca -
SOAP, candles w Of
nshlng HES and lot of truck that ranged
from an old hne-tooth comb to the Leaf Of
an almanac We gave the Dago the freedom
OF the town, you may be sure for the nm
Just suspicion We had entertained
Wood rats are the greatest thieves in
the animal kingdom" said a listener ..a,Id
know OF an instance which occurred in
the mountains where they not only caused
suspicion, but created no end of trouble
A party was making the tour Of the Sierras
north of the Yosemite camping every
night. was in the party, and / shall never
forget IT. One morning one of the men
came TO me and said that a valuable piece
OF JeWelTy had disappeared during IN.
night There were five in the party and
Tour attendants, and, of course suspicip,,
rested on the latter. We spent all the fore
Eoon talking il over and wondering yvhar
TO do. Finally decided to go to the oldest
attendant and tell him. When / did So M
an laughed and said: Have 1,o,, b,,,,,-+yS
IN the wood rats nest?' No; I had moi In
TACT, had never heard of the wood raj
% ne TOOK me about fifty feet away in The
push, where there was a pile of sticks at
least hVe feet high shaped like a big beehive
Inc hrst thing l saw was the missing Jewell
~ lying on the ground at one OF The an
frances. where the wood rat had dragged n
ana not only that, but glove and a whfp-
lfsh ana about quart of barley scattered
around, an empty sardine can, a tobacco
Dag ana some matches-in fact all the re-
qulrements for a forest fire. So YOU see
II we hadn't had a man who knew what
wood rats are, We might have charged soma
one with stealing"
wood rats are common in all the south
ern states. In southern California thev
make extraordinary nests on the ground
IN bushes, and sometimes in the tons 81
oaks. and sycamores. One of their nests
was opened once in the hope of taking one
Oh the ANIMALS alive. IL was the work OF
an hour TO take apart the tangle of sticks
ard branches Then two large rooms were
found, one packed with the soft, wool-lIke
lining of seeds, the bed for the young and
another and larger filed with seeds. acorns
and barley from field some 800 or 900 feet
distant. The nest was permeated with tun-
Eels in every direction, and finally these
entered the ground So II would have been
impossible TO burn the little creature out
as IL would merely take to the UNDER