SMALL COUNTRY NEIGHBORS 395 



the process, climbed and sailed back to the tree where the 

 nest was; then she took out another young one and re- 

 turned with it, in exactly the same fashion as with the 

 first. She repeated this until all six of the young ones 

 were laid on the bank, side by side in a row, all with their 

 heads the same way. Finding that she was not molested 

 she ultimately took all six of the little fellows back to 

 her nest, where she reared her brood undisturbed. 



Flying squirrels become very gentle and attractive 

 little pets if taken into the house. I cannot say as much 

 for gray squirrels. Once when a small boy I climbed up 

 to a large nest of dry leaves in the fork of a big chestnut 

 tree, and from it picked out three very young squirrels. 

 One died, but the other two I succeeded in rearing on a 

 milk diet, which at first I was obliged to administer with 

 a syringe. They grew up absolutely tame and would 

 climb all over the various members of the household ; but 

 as they grew older they grew cross. If we children did 

 something they did not like they would not only scold us 

 vigorously, but, if they thought the provocation war- 

 ranted it, would bite severely; and we finally exiled them 

 to the woods. Gray squirrels, I am sorry to say, rob nests 

 just as red squirrels do. At Sagamore Hill I have more 

 than once been attracted by the alarm notes of various 

 birds, and on investigation have found the winged wood- 

 land people in great agitation over a gray squirrel's as- 

 sault on the eggs or young of a thrush or vireo; and once 

 one of these good-looking marauders came up the hill to 

 harry a robin's nest near the house. Many years ago I 

 had an extraordinary experience with a gray squirrel. 



