NOTES FROM THE PRAIRIE 93 



"I have never had the opportunity to discover 

 whether there was any difference in the dispositions 

 of birds of the same species; it would take a very 

 close and extended observation to determine that; 

 but I do know there is as much difference between 

 animals as between human beings in that respect. 

 Horses, cats, dogs, squirrels, all have their own in- 

 dividuality. I have had five gray squirrels for pets, 

 and even their features were unlike. Fred and 

 Sally were mates, who were kept shut up in their 

 cages all the time. Fred was wonderfully brave, 

 would strut and scold until there was something to 

 be afraid of, then would crouch down behind Sally 

 and let her defend him, the sneak ! He abused her 

 shamefully, but she never resented it. Being the 

 larger, she could have whipped him and not half 

 tried; but she probably labored under the impres- 

 sion, which is shared by some people, that it is a 

 wife's duty to submit to whatever abuse the husband 

 chooses to inflict. Their characters reminded me 

 so strongly of some people I have seen that I used 

 to take Fred out and whip him regularly, as a sort 

 of vicarious punishment of those who deserved it. 

 Chip was a gentle, pretty squirrel, fond of being 

 petted, spent most of her time in my pocket or 

 around my neck, but she died young; probably she 

 was too good to live. 



"Dick, lazy and a glutton, also died young, from 

 over-eating. Chuck, the present pet, has Satan's 

 own temper — very ugly — but so intelligent that 

 she is the plague of our lives, though at the same 



