GLIMPSES OF WILD LIFE 183 



creatures did lay hold of the spoon when they 

 got a taste of the milk! One could not help 

 laughing. Their little shinhig black paws were 

 so handy and so smooth ; they seemed as if in- 

 cased in kid gloves. They throve well upon 

 milk, and then upon milk and clover. l)ut 

 after the novelty of the thing had worn off, the 

 boy found he had encumbered himself with se- 

 rious duties in assuming the position of foster- 

 mother to this large family ; so he gave them all 

 away but one, the first one captured, which had 

 outstripped all the others in growth. This 

 soon became a very amusmg pet, but it always 

 protested when handled, and always objected to 

 confinement. I should mention that the cat had 

 a kitten about the age of the chuck, and as she 

 had more milk than the kitten could dispose of, 

 the chuck, when we first got him, was often 

 placed in the nest with the kitten, and was 

 regarded by the cat as tenderly as her own, and 

 allowed to nurse freely. Thus a friendship 

 sprang up between the kitten and the wood- 

 chuck, wdiich lasted as long as the latter lived. 

 They w^ould play together precisely like two 

 kittens: clinch and tumble about and roll upon 

 the grass in a very amusing way. Finally the 

 woodchuck took up his abode under the floor of 

 the kitchen, and gradually relapsed into a half- 

 wild state. He would permit no familiarities 

 from any one save the kitten, but each day they 

 would have a turn or two at their old games of 

 rough-and-tumble. The chuck was now over 

 half grown, and procured his own living. One 



