Pack Rat, The Grand Acquisitor

Illustration by Charles B. Slackman, for Horizon Magazine, Winter 1969

When I read The Grand Acquisitor, Horizon Magazine's 1969 article on the pack rat, I was absolutely charmed. I hadn't realized that there actually is a small rodent that hunts for objects that are attractive though totally useless to him (Sound like some other species?).

Rodentia   |  Cricetidae  |  Neotoma

The pack rat has sleek fur, a white stomach and a bushy tail, and bears a close resemblance to the hamster. In his nervous movements, he's sometimes compared to the squirrel, and he's a very busy thief. Food is a big portion of his loot, of course, but the pack rat is attracted to almost anything in his path. Unlike the magpie, who is discriminating, the pack rat is indecisive when confronted with a choice of objects. Because he's famous for lugging along one item, seeing another, and then leaving his first choice in place of the newer find, the pack rat is sometimes called a trade rat.

The pack rat takes his treasures back to an ever-growing nest which is inhabited by a succession of rats, often generations of the same family. With all the clutter of oddities, the nest is appropriately referred to as a midden.

I found the personality of the pack rat so amusing that I decided to paint this curious little animal.

© Mark D. Ruffner

This is a color sketch for a pack rat painting. I did several which I gave away, but in each one, the pack rat was a collector of antiques, quilts, posters and famous paintings.

© Mark D. Ruffner

My mother enjoyed the series so much, she requested her own pack rat painting. So this is The Swiss Pack Rat. All the items allude to Switzerland or family. The flirtatious lady in the background is my grandmother, who was from Bern. The pack rat wears a traditional Bernese hat, which mirrors my grandmother's. He proudly displays the Basel Dove, Switzerland's rarest stamp (my mother was a philatelist), but unfortunately the stamp is being sliced by a Swiss Army Knife!

I'm thinking of painting another pack rat, but this one with older items closer to his scale. I've settled on an Indian Head penny and an old bottle cap, but haven't thought beyond those two items. I'd love to get your suggestions! What would you include in a pack rat's midden?