A THOUSAND-YEAR PINE 



for existence. These death-struggles 

 occur not only in the daytime, but in 

 the night. Mice, rats, and rabbits de- 

 stroy millions of young trees. These 

 bold animals often flay baby trees in 

 the daylight, and while at their deadly 

 feast many a time have they been sur- 

 prised by hawks, and then they are at 

 a banquet where they themselves are 

 eaten. The owl, the faithful night- 

 watchman of trees, often swoops down 

 at night, and as a result some little 

 tree is splashed with the blood of the 

 very animal that came to feed upon it. 

 The lower section of Old Pine's 

 trunk contained records which I found 

 interesting. One of these in particular 

 aroused my imagination. I was sawing 

 off a section of this lower portion when 

 the saw, with a buzz-z-z-z, suddenly 

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