SQUIRRELS. 345 



ammunition, &c. The Indians have a superstition that a 

 gun that once shoots a ground-hog is ruined for every- 

 thing else. The flesh is very good eating. They lay up 

 stores of nuts, &c., in their dens, as squirrels do, and 

 remain at home all winter. 



There are at least five species of squirrels in the Cana- 

 dian forest. Two of these, the black squirrel (Sciurus Niger) 

 and the grey squirrel (S. Carolinensis), are only found in 

 Canada West, and I believe even there are only summer 

 visitors, migrating southwards in the cold weather, but of 

 their habits I cannot speak with certainty. In the regions 

 of the trapper I have met with only three species, viz. the 

 common red squirrel (S. Hudsonius), ground squirrel 

 (S. striatus), and flying squirrel (S. Sabrinus). The last- 

 named is a little animal of very secluded habits, which 

 leads a solitary life in the depths of the forest, rarely seen 

 by the hunter, though sometimes caught in his traps. It 

 flies from tree top to tree top, feeding on cones of the fir 

 and pine trees, and makes its nest in a hollow tree. 



The red squirrel may be seen not only in the forest, 

 but in the settlements ; a cheerful, noisy, audacious little 

 fellow, he may sometimes be met with even in the villages, 

 chattering on the roof tops or running along the fences. 

 The fur of these animals, though very soft, thick, and 

 pretty, is of little or no value. Their chief enemies are 

 martens and weasels in the woods, cats and small boys in 

 the settlements. Systematically hunted they are not, so 

 that, unlike most of the other wild animals of the country, 

 they do not melt away ; on the contrary, they increase 

 and multiply, for man kills some of their natural enemies, 

 and helps to supply them with food. They build their 



