346 Life-histories of Northern Animals 



In the wooded parts of Minnesota the coming forth of the 

 Chipmunks is a recognized event among the young Indians 

 and is celebrated, Dr. Charles Eastman informs me, by a 

 special hunt. As soon as the bright, warm days of spring arrive 

 to make it possible the boys go forth between sunrise and nine 

 o'clock to some well-known Chipmunk haunt, where one of 

 their number, who is adept in imitating the creatures' notes, 

 begins the chorus by a loud chirping. The Chipmunks pop 

 out of their holes on all sides. "Sometimes as many as 50 

 will come together and hold a social reunion." ^ Then, seeking 

 some high perch, they join in the spring music with a concen- 

 trated energy that seems to make them heedless of danger, 

 and soon they fall in numbers to the blunt-headed arrows of 

 the little Indians. 



VOICE They are active from this time on, and their sunny morning 



chorus is not by any means confined to that original outburst. 



On April 29, 1905, at Cos Cob, Conn., I heard a Chip- 

 munk in full song. He kept it up for eleven minutes without 

 ceasing, and uttered 130 chirps to the minute. He got no 

 reply, though he worked very hard and seemed tired toward the 

 last. I made the sketch of him which appears as the upper 

 figure in Plate XXXIII. 



On May 28, 1905, at Cos Cob, I heard a Chipmunk singing; 

 he kept it up for three minutes, uttering three chirps to the second. 



On June 11, 1905, at the same place, I saw a Chipmunk 

 uttering the ^^chuck-chuck'' chorus at the rate of fifteen chirps 

 to ten seconds; five or six of his kind were in sight, but only 

 one joined in; it was 100 feet away. When I drew near they 

 changed to the much higher danger note and dived below. 

 Early in September, 1906, at Cos Cob, I timed a singing 

 Chipmunk. It kept on for six minutes, uttering at the fastest 

 170 chirps to the minute. While most of these uttered the deep 

 musical *' chuck," others used as the unit of the song a high 

 chirp exactly like the alarm note. I never heard one making 

 this sound while up a tree. I believe both sexes sing. 



* Indian Boyhood, by Charles Eastman, 1902, p. 92. 



