146 RIVERBY 



Apparently the first thing he does on coming forth, 

 as soon as he is sure of himself, is to go courting. 

 So far as I have observed, the love-making of the 

 chipmunk occurs in March. A single female will 

 attract all the males in the vicinity. One early 

 March day I was at work for several hours near a 

 stone fence, where a female had apparently taken up 

 her quarters. What a train of suitors she had that 

 day ! how they hurried up and down, often giving 

 each other a spiteful slap or bite as they passed. 

 The young are born in May, four or five at a birth. 



The chipmunk is quite a solitary creature ; I have 

 never known more than one to occupy the same den. 

 Apparently no two can agree to live together. What 

 a clean, pert, dapper, nervous little fellow he is! 

 How fast his heart beats, as he stands up on the 

 wall by the roadside, and, with hands spread out 

 upon his breast, regards you intently ! A movement 

 of your arm, and he darts into the wall with a saucy 

 chip-r-r, which has the effect of slamming the door 

 behind him. 



On some still day in autumn, the nutty days, the 

 woods will often be pervaded by an undertone of 

 sound, produced by their multitudinous clucking, 

 as they sit near their dens. It is one of the charac- 

 teristic sounds of fall. 



The chipmunk has many enemies, such as cats, 

 weasels, black snakes, hawks, and owls. One season 

 one had his den in the side of the bank near my 

 study. As I stood regarding his goings and com- 

 ings, one October morning, I saw him, when a few 



