HAIRY-TAILED PACK RATS 49 



parts of a watch, numerous plugs of tobacco, and 

 minor articles too numerous to mention, making 

 a substantial fort if not a soft nest. But the pack 

 rat is 



NOT THE ONLY RODENT WITH MISCHIEVOUS 

 HABITS. 



Ordinary brown house rats have been known 

 to build a nest as large almost as a bushel basket 

 composed entirely of expensive cigars, and in Con- 

 necticut the muskrats robbed a tobacco plantation 

 of growing plants in large q.uanities. In an old 

 house in Pennsylvania some ten years ago, a rat's 

 nest was found containing a Mexican dollar of the 

 date 1774, a Mexican quarter of the date 1772, 

 and some papers of 1770. A rat in New Jersey 

 was detected in the act of carrying away a thou- 

 sand dollar bill. 



One rat's bed was found in an old house. The 

 nest was composed of money in denominations 

 from $5 up to $1,000. A workman in tearing 

 down another old house discovered a rat's nest 

 made of "butter money" issued by the Bank of 

 Orange County at Goshen, some time before the 

 great Civil War. The nest was at least fifty years 

 old. 



But in these cases it must be remembered that 

 the money and even the tobacco and cigars were of 

 real service as good material for the manufac- 

 turing of nests all except the Mexican silver dol- 

 lar and quarter of a dollar, these must have been 



