THE SNOW-WALKERS 53 



none of the cunning or viciousness of the common 

 Old World mouse. 



It is he who, high in the hollow trunk of some 

 tree, lays by a store of beechnuts for winter use. 

 Every nut is carefully shelled, and the cavity that 

 serves as storehouse lined with grass and leaves. 

 The wood-chopper frequently squanders this precious 

 store. I have seen half a peck taken from one 

 tree, as clean and white as if put up by the most 

 delicate hands, — as they were. How long it must 

 have taken the little creature to collect this quan- 

 tity, to hull them one by one, and convey them 

 up to his fifth-story chamber ! He is not confined 

 to the woods, but is quite as common in the fields, 

 particularly in the fall, amid the corn and potatoes. 

 When routed by the plow, I have seen the old one 

 take flight with half a dozen young hanging to her 

 teats, and with such reckless speed that some of the 

 young would lose their hold and fly off amid the 

 weeds. Taking refuge in a stump with the rest of 

 her family, the anxious mother would presently 

 come back and hunt up the missing ones. 



The snow-walkers are mostly night-walkers also, 

 and the record they leave upon the snow is the main 

 clew one has to their life and doings. The hare is 

 nocturnal in its habits, and though a very lively 

 creature at night, with regular courses and run-ways 

 through the wood, is entirely quiet by day. Timid 

 as he is, he makes little efl'ort to conceal himself, 

 usually squatting beside a log, stump, or tree, and 

 seeming to avoid rocks and ledges where he might 



