38 DAN BEARD'S ANIMAL BOOK 



and mud he took down a pair of rubber boots 

 which had been hanging for months to one of the 

 rafters over-head. Jim was not at all surprised 

 upon discovering that one boot was unusually 

 heavy he was accustomed to have the pack rats 

 fill his boots with any material they could find 

 so with a muttered something which was not a 

 prayer he dumped the contents of the boot on the 

 floor. 



The sight of the contents of the boot caused the 

 old sinner to dance around the shack and shout 

 for joy. The pack rats had taken all the sur- 

 veyors' plug tobacco and packed it neatly away in 

 the long hip boot, giving Jim a bountiful supply 

 of his dearly beloved weed and more than enough 

 to last him through the long winter months. I 

 do not vouch for the truth of this story, but from 

 what I know of rats it does not seem an improb- 

 able one. They will steal a man's box of pills, 

 carry them to a neighboring camp and leave a 

 dead bird in their place. They have been known 

 to carry off every kind of small article to be 

 found in mountain camps and cabins. The reason 

 they are sometimes called 



TRADE RATS 



is because of their habit of leaving something in 

 the place of the thing they take away. 



A great many stories have originated from this 

 habit of the pack rat and many writers pretend 

 to believe that the hairy-tailed rats are really bent 



