346 FOUR-FOOTED AMERICANS 



begin at the opposite end from usual, be has a tail six 

 and three quarter inches long, while his body, only 

 measures five inches and a half. This tail ends in a 

 sort of brush, and he can use it as a rudder or turn and 

 twist it like a snake. Next come wide hips and a very 

 liigh pair of legs, particularl}^ long from foot to knee- 

 like the Jack Rabbit's ; after this the Rat slopes rapidly 

 toward short arms, a pointed head, trimmed with outside 

 clieek pouches, fur-lined round ears, bright eyes, and 

 long whiskers. His coat is of soft shaded brown. These 

 Rats are rarely seen, for they feed at night, but I have 

 watched them by moonlight, and they hop about on 

 their liind legs like some mechanical toy, holding their 

 tiny paws together across their chests, as if they did 

 not know what to do with them. They are southerly 

 Rats, enduring great heat, and they make large lodges 

 or houses, sometimes two and three feet high, among 

 the Spanish Bayonet plants and aloes, which serve as 

 hotels to several families. 



" The .Poi-kef Mouse also belongs to the south, and 

 is an inch smaller than the Kangaroo Rat. It, too, 

 lias a long tail, long back legs, and outside cheek 

 pouches. Its coat is a lighter brown than that of the 

 Deer Mouse, and it also wears a white vest. 



"Last, least, but most interesting of all is the Jump- 

 iufi 3Ioiise, with brown coat, white vest, three inches of 

 body, and five inches of tail ; and surely a three-inch 

 Mouse who can jump ten feet is entitled to give his 

 name to a family. It is a gentle Mouse, too, and does 

 little harm to the farmer in the northern half of North 

 America, where it belongs, being content with seeds, 

 the softer nuts, and berries. It stores up food in ground 



