ANIMALS. S3f 



near an i«c!i long: the hind feet like those of a rat, 

 but the nails not of the sanne length, each foot having 

 five claws: veiy sparkling small eyes: also short 

 ears : teeth like a squirrel, and full as long. On both 

 sides of the jaw, externally, are sacks or wallets, 

 where it deposits its food, and each will contain as 

 much as can be put in a large table spoon. Little or 

 BO fur, and the hair of the length of a wood rat« 

 The whole face of the pine country is covered with 

 little mounds made by this animal, of the circum- 

 ference of a peck, and from sis: to eight inches high. 

 It is by no means active, but remarkably fierce. No 

 common wooden place of confmement can hold it 

 long, as it gnaws its way out. It lives entirely on 

 roots, and is very fond of the sweet potatoe, and 

 «)ften proves injurious to the planter by getting under 

 liLS stacks. It appears to move nearer the surface in 

 tiie spring and fall, than at any other season. It is 

 surprising, that though the work of this creature is 

 seeu throughout the country, in the region of the 

 long-leaf pine, and that region only, yet such is its 

 skill in burrowing, and acuteness of hearing, that 

 there is no animal in all our state so seldom caught or 

 seen. 



This account, which does not wholly corresponc[ 

 x%'ith the character of the mus cricetus germanicus, 

 leads to the belief of its being a new species. But 

 m order to be quite satisfied of this, it is necessary to 

 be more particularly acquainted with its manners 

 and way of life. 



A cut of the hamster may be seen in the additions 

 to Mr, Anderson's edition of Bewick's history of 

 quadrupeds. New York, 1804. 



