1 6 WILD NEIGHBORS CHAP. 



bring home the greater number of trophies; the 

 quantities thus killed are almost incredible now. 



Out of these excessive multitudes grew those 

 sudden and seemingly aimless migrations of innu- 

 merable hosts of squirrels which justly excited 

 wonder half a century ago. Thousands upon 

 thousands, of this species usually, would suddenly 

 appear in a locality, moving steadily in one direc- 

 tion. These migrations occurred only in warm 

 weather, and at intervals of about five years, and 

 all that I have been able to find notes upon were 

 headed eastward. Nothing stopped the column, 

 which would press forward through forests, prai- 

 ries, and farm fields, over mountains and across 

 broad rivers, such even as the Niagara, Hudson, 

 and Mississippi. This little creature hates the 

 water and is a bad swimmer, paddling clumsily 

 along with his whole body and tail submerged. A 

 large part, therefore, would be drowned, and those 

 which managed to reach the opposite shore were 

 so weary that many could be caught by the hand. 

 Of course every floating object would be seized 

 upon by the desperate swimmers, and thus arose 

 the pretty fable that the squirrels ferried them- 

 selves over by launching and embarking upon 

 chips, raising their tails as sails for their tiny 

 rafts. 



The motive which impelled the little migrants to 

 gather in great companies from a wide area, and 

 then in a vast coherent army to begin a movement. 



