THE STORE-KEEPER'S HAUNTS. 49 



daily necessities a garrison in which he can defy 

 wind, rain, frost, and snow, and bide his time 

 until the Ice-king yields his sceptre to the genial 

 ruler of the summer. 



This squirrel seems to live everywhere. Wan- 

 der round the margin of the emerald-green 

 prairie, and there, amidst the hazel, mohonia, 

 vine-maple, and various shrubs that love the 

 sunshine, the ' Store-keeper' is sure to be seen, 

 skipping along on a dead stick, or scudding 

 through the bushes ; stopping continually to 

 have a peep at the intruder; sitting bolt up- 

 right, with its tail erected, defiantly chattering 

 angrily, in a kind of half-laugh, half-bark; then 

 uttering a shrill chirp, a danger-signal to others, 

 then makes for its hole and disappears. Paddle 

 in a canoe down the surging stream, past the 

 piles of driftwood, heaped mountains of dead 

 trees ; and as the frail bark shoots by, you are 

 certain to see the 'Store-keeper' scampering 

 from log to log, his scolding and whistling lost in 

 the noisy rush of the torrent. Dive into the dark 

 shadow of the pine-forest, where mouldy life 

 holds high festival where huge fungoid growths 

 and giant agarics spring in flabby clusters from 

 the oozy logs where the pools, thick and slimy, 

 are covered with the green fleshy leaves of the 



VOL. II. E 



