I70 



MAMMALS OF AMERICA 



either upon the tree trunk or upon the upper 

 side of a limb. The cut in the bark forms a 

 small cavity, in which the sap collects, and as 

 the capacity is small, there may be two or three 

 " drinking fountains " on the same tree. 



He is abroad at nearly all times of the day, 

 but retires early, excej^t in the busy nutting sea- 

 son, when he keeps late hours. This Squirrel 

 combines qualities so entirely dissimilar that he 

 is clearly the enigma of the forest. His wonder- 

 ful inquisitiveness, his exasperating insolence, 

 coupled with all disregard for the ordinary 

 civilities of the wood folk, stamp him " the black 

 sheep of the flock." If you disturb him in your 

 walk, he mounts the nearest tree, and from a 

 limb just out of reach he literally boils over with 

 rage and indignation, jerking his tail and stamp- 

 ing the limb furiously, calling " chickaree, 

 chickaree, chickaree! " He barks and spits, and 

 probably says things in Squirrel language that 

 would sound very dreadful in English. He 

 makes little dashes first this way, then that, as 

 though he intended to come down the tree and 

 run you from the premises. He has no more 

 respect for a man than for a dog, and if you sit 

 down and remain motionless, he may either pay 

 no attention to you at all, or his insolence may 

 know no bounds, so fickle and changeable is his 

 disposition. 



Those who have tented in the woods far re- 

 moved from man's influence, must have observed 

 the ungovernable curiosity of the Red Squirrel. 

 \\'ithin ten minutes after your camping outfit 

 was landed, he was chattering at you from the 

 tree tops. If he considered you a " squatter " 

 upon his territory, his language indicated it, but 

 if pleased, his every action showed his appro- 

 bation. Many a time I have been awakened in 

 the early morning by the repeated calls and 

 chuckles of this clown of the forest ; nor was he 

 always satisfied in remaining on the outside of 

 my tent, for if I did not appear at what he be- 

 lieved to be the proper time, he might surprise 

 me by coming inside. If you really would like 

 to have him come in, a nut dropped near the 

 entrance would seem to assure him that vou 

 were his friend, and the ice once broken he 

 visits you regularly during your stay, accepting 

 food of almost any kind. A few weeks of this, 

 and you become very much attached to the mis- 

 chievous little rascal, and after camping davs 

 are over, the recalling of his escapades is a 

 pleasant memory. 



This same curiosity that endears him to some 

 campers makes him a terror in the region of the 

 trappers. Says one observer : " From an over- 



hanging limb he looks on with unfeigned in- 

 terest while the trapper arranges the bait for 

 the Marten or Fisher; but a moment later he has 

 sprung the trap and is chippering with a fiendish 

 delight. He is often caught, it is true, but a 

 half dozen others are always ready to take his 

 place, and it affords little satisfaction to the 

 hunter, on his lonely rounds through the snow- 

 clad forest, to find a worthless squirrel in his 

 trap, instead of the valuable fur for which it was 

 set." 



Many claim that the Red Squirrel is the bird's 

 most deadly enemy, destroying both eggs and 



Photograph by ii. T. .Midaktun 



CHICKAREE 

 Holding almost as big a nut as he can manage 



young ; others are equally positive that the 

 Squirrel does not meddle with nesting birds. I 

 do not precisely agree with either, for circum- 

 stances have very much to do with it, and to 

 say that the Red Squirrels as a whole do not rob 

 birds' nests is a very sweeping statement. There 

 are probably both innocent and guilty ones. In 

 other words, I believe it to be largely a habit, 

 formed like any other habit that an animal may 

 have, or that persons may have. 



Yet, with all his many faults and objectionable 

 traits, his intelligence, his wonderful persever- 

 ance, his industry, and the cleverness displayed 

 in his various actions cause him to be tolerated, 

 even though he is an acknowledged nuisance. 



S. A. LOTTRIDCE. 



