A HERMIT'S WILD FRIENDS 



times a week, but I never knew him to store 

 bones for winter use before. His next move 

 was to attack the pine-cones. These were 

 gathered while quite green. They were left 

 on the ground three or four days and then 

 carried, whole, to the family storehouse 

 a great quantity was stored under stumps, 

 trees, and boulders. The hemlock-cones were 

 gathered later, but were husked at the foot 

 of the tree on which they grew. 



During the following winter Bismarck 

 looked to me for food. A loaf of bread was 

 wired to a post near the cabin door, from 

 which he could eat, while he could not carry 

 it away. One cold, rainy day, he sat by the 

 bread without eating, and whimpered like a 

 little child. He was telling me in squirrel 

 language that it was cold, rainy, and almost 

 night, and that I ought to give him some 

 bread to take home to his family. I under- 

 stood his appeal, and passed him a biscuit. 

 He scampered away chuckling over his good 

 luck. After that, fair or foul, all through 

 the winter days, he would beg for bread to 

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