THE OHIO DISTRICT 225 



Besides the chipmunks there appeared to be little for 

 the polecats to prey on. Probably they rob the nests of 

 the woodpeckers, and may find some small nocturnals 

 that escaped my notice. It is almost impossible to 

 make observations at night in these forests, for even 

 when the moon is at the full the darkness is almost 

 absolute. It would have escaped my notice that there 

 were polecats had I not caught one in a trap. Then by 

 careful watching in the early evening I discovered others 

 in the trees. It should be observed, however, that the 

 polecat is not a strictly nocturnal animal. 



The chipmunk, which is a ground squirrel, finds an 

 abundance of food in these forests. I found many of 

 their stores of winter food, generally under the hollow 

 roots of trees, and well buried to the depths of five, six, 

 or even as much as eight feet. There were generally 

 from two to three quarts of food in a store, but in some 

 I found five or six quarts, consisting of acorns, hickory 

 nuts, beech mast, and a few kinds of nuts and seeds 

 which I could not name. There was nothing of the 

 nature of gram, but the farmers say that these animals, 

 in the neighbourhood of homesteads, cause them con- 

 siderable loss by carrying away the corn. They are 

 spiteful little animals, and will bite severely if they get 

 the chance. Though I have been very successful in 

 taming all sorts of animals and birds, I never succeeded 

 in winning the least regard from a chipmunk. With a 

 polecat I have been more successful, since I tamed one 

 to the degree of noticing my approach, and climbing 

 about my person. He would also utter a little, soft- 

 sounding cry when he wished to attract my attention. 



There were said to be a few wolves still surviving in 

 these forests at this time, but I never saw the least sign 

 of them, nor do I see how they could have obtained 

 sustenance in such scantily provided woods. Had any 

 been there they would certainly have been driven by 

 hunger to make their appearance among the herds of 



