240 



MAMMALS OF AMERICA 



and sometimes their friendliness becomes a bur- 

 den. While their usual food is nuts and seeds 

 of various kinds, they soon learn to eat almost 

 anything about the camp. These little fellows 

 show a most surprising capacity for food, and 

 when once a hungry horde of them takes pos- 

 session of the camp, well may the hunters and 

 trappers look carefully after their stock of pro- 

 visions ; for when the snow lies deep through the 

 forest and the nearest store is forty miles away, 

 then every ounce of flour and meal is precious. 



This little rodent has sharp teeth which he 

 sometimes uses in a careless and inconsiderate 

 manner, as cord, fish-line, hunting-tackle and 

 even snares set for other animals are cut to 

 pieces. The trap is often sprung and the bait 

 which might have caught a Mink or Marten has 

 been devoured by this small midnight marauder. 



Under favorable circumstances the White- 

 footed Mouse stores up considerable quantities 

 of beechnuts for winter use. These seem to be 

 his favorite nuts. Occasionally, when nuts are 

 not obtainable, seeds and grains of various kinds 

 are stored. The nuts are usually shucked when 

 gathered — at least this has been the present 

 writer's observation — and placed in a hollow of 

 a tree or log. Woodsmen often find stores of 

 nuts. Several years ago I found a storehouse of 

 some White-footed Mice in a cavity of a maple 

 tree. There were nearly three and a half quarts 

 of as beautifully shucked nuts as anyone 

 would wish to see. Only last year I found in a 

 stump another storehouse, containing a quart of 

 beechnuts and an equal amount of buckwheat. 



The White-footed Mouse. like some of the 

 Squirrels, constructs an outside nest in thick tan- 

 gles of bushes from four to ten feet above the 

 ground. The favorite location seems to be about 

 some gently inclined vine, such as the wild grape, 

 which affords a natural and easy highway from 

 the ground to the home of the wee architect. 

 The nests are slightly globular in shape, and 

 composed of dried leaves, grasses, moss and 

 fibrous barks of various kinds, the material being 

 closely compacted and the general appearance 

 very pleasing. The entrance is usually on the 

 lower side. Sometimes the foundation is an old 

 bird's nest, very often that of a cat-bird. I 

 once found a nest that was fifteen inches in 

 length and about eight inches in diameter, this 

 being the most irregular in shape as well as the 

 largest one that I ever saw. 



Occasionally several Mice will occupy the same 

 nest, and if disturbed they hasten out, making 

 their way along the branches to the ground. If 

 the disturbance is slight, they come out upon the 



branches, gaze about on all sides and gently 

 snifif the air. not returning vmtil they are satis- 

 fied that all danger has passed. 



" Singing Mice " are reported from time to 

 time, and even among the White-footed variety 

 they are no exception, according to a note that 

 appeared in the American Naturalist several 

 years ago by Mr. Hiskey. who wrote as follows: 



" I was sitting a few evenings since not far 

 from a half-open closet door, when I was startled 

 by a sound issuing from the closet, of such mar- 

 velous beauty that 1 at once asked my wife how 

 ' Bobbie Burns ' (our canary) had found his 

 way into the closet, and what could start him 

 to singing such a queer and sweet song in the 

 dark. I procured a light and found it to be a 

 Mouse ! He had filled an overshoe from a basket 

 of popcorn which had been popped and placed 

 in the closet in the morning. Whether this rare 

 collection of food inspired him with song I know 

 not. but I had not the heart to disturb his corn, 

 hoping to hear from him again. Last night his 

 song was renewed. I approached him with a 

 subdued li,ght and with great caution, and had 

 the pleasure of seeing him sitting among his 

 corn and singing his beautiful solo. I observed 

 him without interruption for ten minutes, not 

 over four feet from him. His song was not a 

 chirp, but a continuous song of a musical tone, 

 a kind of to-wit-to-wee-woo-woo-wee-woo. quite 

 varied in pitch." 



The \\'hite-footed Mouse reproduces very 

 rapidly, as there are from two to four litters in 

 a year and from three to six young in a litter. 

 This Mouse has many enemies, such as the Fox, 

 Wild Cat, various kinds of owls, house cat, 

 and, the most formidable of all, the common 

 ^^'easel. 



Once while passing through a thicket, an im- 

 familiar sound caused the present writer to stop 

 and listen. Peering through the brush I discov- 

 ered a screech owl standing on the side of an 

 old bird's nest, only a short distance away. It 

 was after sundown, but the light was sufficient 

 to enable me to see objects quite distinctly some 

 distance away. The owl was absorbed in tear- 

 ing apart wliat, at first sight, I supposed to be 

 the bird's nest. So intently was he engaged in 

 this task that I approached unobserved, and 

 when within thirty feet of the bird I discovered 

 that a White-footed Mouse had placed his home 

 on the top of the bird's nest. The owl evidently 

 knew that it was the abode of the Mouse, for 

 he was opening the nest by using both his beak 

 and claws. Suddenly a White-footed Mouse 

 sprang from the nest, which was not more than 



