PARKS — NEOTOMA IN SANTA CRUZ MOUNTAINS 
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no fear of any one around the camp. They appeared regularly morning 
and evening and quite frequently came down to the ground for bits 
of food. 
To me they appeared quite stupid and rather sluggish in movement. 
They did not move with any great speed and such of them as I have 
seen at distances from the nests did not take alarm very easily. It 
may be that their great curosity overcomes fear to a certain degree. 
Eventually these little visitors became such a nuisance that the rifle 
was brought into use. Sitting at my table I shot six of them as they 
sat in the branches of the tree above me. They made no effort to get 
away^ simply squealing a little at the noise but otherwise appearing 
unafraid. They presented a ludicrous and helpless appearance. 
They were all apparently dwellers in a nest located in a large oak at 
some little distance from the camp. I could trace their course of travel 
through the trees from that vicinity. I have since seen regular courses 
travelled by rats through the madrone thickets, regular paths being 
worn in the tender young green bark early in the fall. These six rats 
were of an even size and were always seen together and I have thought 
they were all of one litter. They were four to five inches long with a 
tail a trifle longer than the body. The fur was of fine texture and 
condition although it was the middle of May. It was clean, soft gray 
on the sides and back and pure clean white on the belly. The head 
was short and rather heavy in appearance with a blunt nose and short, 
rounded, erect ears. They had the look of rats approaching maturity. 
I have since found stray animals about a third larger than those 
mentioned. These latter were probably old as they had dirty gray fur 
and a more rat-like appearance. On the ground they were slow of 
movement but were much speedier in the trees. Aloft in the trees 
they were not inclined to run far or escape when observed. They would 
stretch their bodies lengthwise along a limb without much attempt at 
concealment and then follow every movement of a person on the 
ground with their eyes. Unlike the squirrels they do not seek to keep 
the tree between themselves and an observer. When shot at with a 
rifle they would sit up on their haunches and squeal but make no 
attempt to run away. 
On occasion I have disturbed rats and forced them into the trees 
where I have thrown sticks at them with the intention of making them 
move rather than to injure them. If the missile passed close enough 
the rat would move a short distance and wait for another missile to be 
thrown. The result almost invariably was that the rat would travel 
