346 THE TRAPPER. 



nests in old stumps or under the roots of a tree, and lay 

 up for themselves ample provisions of fir cones for the 

 winter. They also eat nuts of every kind, apples, and 

 even potatoes. No shell seems too hard for their sharp 

 cutting teeth ; even the butter-nut a nut so hard as to 

 defy nutcrackers, and impregnable to human efforts 

 without the assistance of hammer and anvil is breached 

 by the squirrel. 



The habits of this species and of the flying squirrel 

 seem to be almost identical. Both provide themselves 

 with warm comfortable winter quarters, as does the bear ; 

 but they do not hybernate like Bruin. When a mild 

 day occurs, as mild days do occur even in this Arctic 

 winter, or an unusually warm ray of sunshine peeps 

 through the tree tops, then the red squirrel may be seen 

 emerging from his hole in -the snow, scampering up the 

 nearest tree, and even cracking a social nut or enjoying 

 a friendly chatter with his mate or next-door neighbour. 

 In the fall they invade gardens and orchards in force, 

 carrying off nuts and apples to their dens, which are 

 sometimes a quarter of a mile distant. 



The character of the red squirrel presents a curious 

 combination of extreme shyness and extreme audacity. 

 Walking through the woods we may see a glimpse of a 

 squirrel as he scampers out of sight, or hear him chat- 

 tering far off in the distance, but that is all. Let us now 

 sit down and remain perfectly motionless for a few minutes, 

 and squirrels appear as if by enchantment, and play about, 

 round our feet and over our heads ; then, on our making 

 the slightest movement, they instantaneously disappear. I 

 have seen captive squirrels, but I never saw a tame one, 



