VI. 

 THE WHITE -FOOTED MOUSE 



THE white-footed mouse, unlike the house 

 mouse, is a handsome fellow. He sports a 

 chestnut coat, a white vest, reddish brown 

 trousers, and white stockings. His eyes and 

 ears are uncommonly large, causing his head 

 to resemble a deer's in miniature. This resem- 

 blance has bestowed upon him the name of 

 " deer-mouse." He is also called " wood- 

 mouse," but is known to science as Hespe- 

 romys leucopus. 



My object in writing about these mice is 

 to call attention to their peculiar method of 

 communication. I have summered and win- 

 tered them over fifteen years, and never have 

 I heard one of them utter a vocal sound. They 

 communicate with each other by drumming 

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