232 THE MOUNTAINS OF CALIFOKNIA 



flea, without ceasing or in any way confusing his 

 " Pee-ah ! pee-ah ! " for a single moment. 



While ascending trees all his claws come into 

 play, but in descending the weight of his body is 

 sustained chiefly by those of the hind feet ; still in 

 neither case do his movements suggest effort, 

 though if you are near enough you may see the 

 bulging strength of his short, bear-like arms, and 

 note his sinewy fists clinched in the bark. 



Whether going up or down, he carries his tail ex 

 tended at full length in line with his body, unless 

 it be required for gestures. But while running 

 along horizontal limbs or fallen trunks, it is fre 

 quently folded forward over the back, with the airy 

 tip daintily upcurled. In cool weather it keeps him 

 warm. Then, after he has finished his meal, you 

 may see him crouched close on some level limb with 

 his tail-robe neatly spread and reaching forward to 

 his ears, the electric, outstanding hairs quivering 

 in the breeze like pine-needles. But in wet or very 

 cold weather he stays in his nest, and while curled 

 up there his comforter is long enough to come for 

 ward around his nose. It is seldom so cold, how 

 ever, as to prevent his going out to his stores when 

 hungry. 



Once as I lay storm-bound on the upper edge of 

 the timber line on Mount Shasta, the thermometer 

 nearly at zero and the sky thick with driving snow, 

 a Douglas came bravely out several times from one 

 of the lower hollows of a Dwarf Pine near my camp, 

 faced the wind without seeming to feel it much, 

 frisked lightly about over the mealy snow, and dug 

 his way down to some hidden seeds with wonder- 



