Reddy, the squirrel, is of course, found wherever 

 trees grow. He is fond of nuts and acorns, but he 

 can subsist on the seeds of pines, spruce and firs. He 

 varies his diet with wild fruits and mushrooms and 

 he is not averse to robbing a nest of eggs or of young. 

 He seems always gay and saucy. He scolds and chat- 

 ters at you from his perch, and after you have es- 

 tablished your camp, he is sure to come and look 

 you over. 



And where the red squirrel lives in the tree tops, 

 rabbits and woodchucks and chipmunks live under 

 the trees and in the ground. So numerous become 

 the snowshow rabbit in some seasons that their func- 

 tion seems to be that of little foresters thinning the 

 trees, which would otherwise grow too thick and 

 weaken one another in a bitted competition for soil 

 and light. 



Scattered through the whole wide forest live the 

 woodchucks. They dig their burrows in suitable 

 places, feed on succulent grasses and herbs during 

 the summer, and, like bear and skunk and the little 

 striped chipmunk, sleep away the winter months in 

 the bosom of mother earth. 



The most interesting glimpses of the life of the 

 small creatures are granted to him who samps a 

 week or longer in one place. 



In a cabin in Itasca, three half grown chipmunks 

 came regularly mornings and evenings for the crumbs 

 I put on a plate for them. Like three young kittens, 

 they accepted my daily gifts. I wondered what forest 

 tragedy might have taken away their parents. Was 

 it due to owl or hawk or a stealthily hunting weasel? 



17 



