238 GNAWING ANIMALS 



the food store was being examined, and finally deposited in 

 a pile upon the open ground, near the tent door, the five 

 mice escaped into the sage-brush. Near by stood an old- 

 fashioned buggy, which presently became a valuable piece of 

 stage property. 



Next morning, when the photographer lifted the cushion 

 of his buggy seat, and opened the top of the shallow box 

 underneath, the five mice, with their heads together in a droll- 

 looking group, looked out at him in surprise and curiosity, 

 without attempting to run away. But very soon it became 

 our turn to be surprised. 



We found that those industrious little creatures had 

 gathered up every particle of their nest, and every seed of 

 their winter store, and carried all of it up into the seat of 

 that buggy! The nest had been carefully remade, and the 

 seed placed close by, as before. Considering the number 

 of journeys that must have been necessary to carry all those 

 materials over the ground, and climb up to the buggy seat, 

 the industry and agility of the mice were amazing. 



By way of experiment, we again removed the nest, and 

 while the mice once more took to the sage-brush, we col- 

 lected all the seed, and poured it in a pile upon the ground, 

 as before. During the following night, those indomitable 

 little creatures again carried nest and seed back into the 

 buggy seat, just as before. Then we gathered up the entire 

 family of mice with their nest and seed, and transported 

 them to New York. 



THE GRASSHOPPER MOUSE/ originally described by Au- 



1 Onychomys leucogaster. 



