THE GROUND SQUIRRELS, OR CHIPMUNKS 



1251 



the woods are alive with these creatures. " Finding an abundance of food," writes 

 Dr. Merriam, " they immediately establish themselves for the winter, and begin at 

 once to hoard up large stores. They are the least hardy of our squirrels, commonly 

 going into winter quarters before the middle of November, and rarely appearing 

 again in any numbers till the warm sun, in March or April, has caused plots of bare 

 ground to appear between the snow banks. Early thaws sometimes bring them out 

 in February; and after having once emerged they often make little excursions over 

 the snow during pleasant days, though the temperature may be several degrees be- 

 low freezing. In running from tree to tree, even when not pursued, the length of 

 their bound varies from twenty-five to thirty-four inches a long leap for so small 

 an animal." They commonly leave the Adirondack region in July, since it is but 



THE COMMON CHIPMUNK. 



(Three-fifths natural size.) 



seldom that there is a good crop of beechnuts in two successive years. The young 

 are born in the spring, and leave the nest by June. 



Chipmunks collect an astonishing quantity of food for the winter, which is car- 

 ried to its place of deposit in their capacious cheek pouches. In addition to regular 

 storehouses, these animals lay up a portion of their winter supply here and there 

 beneath the leaves of the forest. In a hole tenanted by four chipmunks, Audubon 

 and Bachman relate that in the nest itself they found about a gill of corn, and in the 

 communicating galleries upward of about a quart of nuts, a peck of acorns, about 

 two quarts of buckwheat, and a small quantity of Indian corn and grass seeds. 

 Generally the chipmunk keeps to the ground, although it will often run some few 

 feet up the trunk of a tree, and when pursued, if its hole be not accessible, will take 

 refuge among the branches. Instances are, however, on record where these 

 animals have been observed regularly ascending tall trees in search of food, and 



