42 SQUIRRELS AND OTHER FUR-BEARERS 



proper. He never burrows in the ground, or takes 

 refuge in a den or hole, when pursued. If caught 

 in the open fields, he is much confused and easily 

 overtaken by the dog; but in the woods, he 

 leaves his enemy at a bound. In summer, when 

 first disturbed, he beats the ground violently with 

 his feet, by which means he would express to you 

 his surprise or displeasure ; it is a dumb way he 

 has of scolding. After leaping a few yards, he 

 pauses an instant, as if to determine the degree 

 of danger, and then hurries away with a much 

 lighter tread. 



His feet are like great pads, and his track in 

 the snow has little of the sharp, articulated ex- 

 pression of Reynard's, or of animals that climb 

 or dig. Yet it is very pretty, like all the rest, 

 and tells its own tale. There is nothing bold 

 or vicious or vulpine in it, and his timid, harm- 

 less character is published at every leap. He 

 abounds in dense woods, preferring localities 

 filled with a small undergrowth of beech and 

 birch, upon the bark of which he feeds. Nature 

 is rather partial to him, and matches his extreme 

 local habits and character with a suit that cor- 

 responds with his surroundings, — reddish gray 

 in summer and white in winter. 



