CAUSE THE CHIPMUNK 241 



from the main tunnel which are usually made late in summer and 

 are used for storehouses. In one such room there was found 

 stored one quart of hazelnuts, eight quarts of acorns, two quarts 

 of buckwheat, four quarts of wheat and some grass seed. Much 

 of this had been brought a long distance. The question of hu- 

 man food supply might be a less difficult one if chipmunk methods 

 were possible. There is always a back stairway to the under- 

 ground dwelling whose opening on the surface is a considerable 

 distance from the other. One or both of the doorways may be 

 well sheltered, sometimes by a shrub and other times by an old 

 stump or stone. Newly dug earth is almost never found near the 

 openings but at some distance from, them.. This leads to the 

 supposition that the cheek pouches may carry other things be- 

 side food. In going to and from the burrows our busy friends 

 seem to avoid making a path which might guide an enemy toward 

 the home. 



Among the enemies disturbing chipmunks is the farmer's 

 cat, which is searching for food for a family of hungry kittens. 

 His cousin the red squirrel will often give chase hoping to secure 

 some provisions. Hawks and owls m.ay pounce upon him as he 

 scampers along zig zag fences but worst of all is the weasel which 

 enters the burrows and destroys the young. 



Although a squirrel, a chipmunk rarely takes refuge in a tree. 

 Sometimes when very much frightened, he will ascend the trunk 

 to the height of perhaps fifteen feet and will then cling there 

 helplessly waiting for the danger to pass. When he does descend 

 he does so spirally. 



Unlike the woodchuck he never becomes dormant during the 

 long cold season but if the ground is free from snow he often goes 

 above ground to enjoy the light and warmth of a sunny day. 

 Even during stormy weather he has a habit of waking and par- 

 taking of the stored food at frequent intervals. 



Chipmunks are very talkative among them.selves. Perhaps 

 five or six of them will spend several hours of a warm afternoon 

 chirruping turn about or all together. Occasionally a cry of 

 warning is given when all will give a series of alarm notes as long 

 as the disturber is in view. 



These animals to whom nature gave many "black marks" do 

 not appear easily frightened if people are quiet and slow of move- 

 ment. A girl who was watching one sat on a stone wall for a 



