52 



VI IE CI' IDE TO NATURE. 



FIG. 1 — KANGAROO MOUSE OR RAT 

 (Two-thirds life size.) Photographed from life by Dr. Shufeldt 



curious little waltzing mice — found in 

 the same establishments. As is the 

 case with all true albinos their eyes are 

 pink, unless the black in the coats of 

 the piebald ones predominates ; in 

 which event the eyes may be black, or 

 at least very dark brown. 



Xow it is a well-known fact that in 

 the case of all albinos, be they fish, 

 reptiles, birds, mammals to include 

 men, there seems to be always some- 

 thing lacking in them. It principally 

 appears to be a certain kind of listless- 

 ness. an absence of vigor and vim, or 

 even in some instances their intelli- 

 gence is of a low order. All this, apart 

 from the fact that they excite in us a 

 certain kind of curiosity when we 

 meet with them, owing to their com- 

 plete "whiteness," they are uninterest- 

 ing creatures, and frequently very 

 stupid and unduly tame. To all this 

 white and piebald mice form no excep- 

 tion, and as to those little dancing 

 chaps, personally I would not own 

 one of them. They are too distracting; 

 they behave as though they had some- 

 thing the matter with them and stood 

 in need of the care of a veterinarian. 

 Who wants to keep a little mouse, as 

 a pet, when the creature is continually 

 giddily whirling round all the time in 

 an aimless sort of way, just as though 

 it were trying to catch up with the 

 end of its tail ? 



We have in this country a very large 

 number of species of wild mice — ferine 

 forms — and many of these when cap- 



tured and tamed make the most inter- 

 esting little pets that any one would 

 care to keep. Several of these have 

 been so kept by the writer of this 

 article, and observations made in their 

 interesting habits in confinement. One 

 of the most abundant forms with us is 

 the common little deer mouse of the 

 eastern United States, and to obtain 

 one of these for yourself is quite a 

 simple matter, especially if one be liv- 

 ing: in the countrv, or even in the sub- 

 urban districts near any of our large 

 cities. 



Mine I used to capture with a com- 

 mon figure-of-four trap set in the 

 woods where I knew they were to be 

 found, and baited with a small bit of a 

 cob of corn, with the dry grain left on 

 it. Although it is now over forty 

 years ago, I shall never forget my 

 first taking of one of these truly beauti- 

 ful little creatures in a trap of the kind 

 just mentioned. It was a bitterly 

 cold morning in the middle of the 

 winter in Xew England at Laddin's 

 Rock, not far from the then town of 

 Stamford, Connecticut. The little 

 fellow had been in the trap apparently 

 all night, and when I peeped into it. 

 was standing there shivering with the 

 cold and with fright. His great round 

 black eyes appeared to be almost pop- 

 ping out of his head, and I shall never 

 forget the beaut}- of his soft coat of 

 browm'sh fawn color with all the under- 

 pays and feet as white as the snow 

 that nearly covered the trap and the 



