304 Monograph of the Genus SduruSf 



and as their numbers are thinned by the gun, the dog and the club, oth- 

 ers are ready to fall in the rear and fill up the ranks, till they occasion 

 infinite mischief and call forth no empty threats of revenge. It is often 

 inquired how these little creatures, that on common occasions, have such 

 an instinctive dread of water, are enabled to cross broad and rapid rivers, 

 like the Ohio and Hudson for instance. It is usually asserted, and be- 

 lieved by many, that they carry to the shore a suitable piece of bark, and 

 seizing the opportunity of a favorable breeze, seat themselves upon this 

 substitute for a boat, hoist their broad tails as a sail, and float safely to the 

 opposite shore. This, together with many other traits of intelligence 

 ascribed to this species, I suspect to be apocryphal. That they do mi- 

 grate at irregular, and occasionally at distant periods, is a fact sufficiently 

 established; but in the only instance in which I had an opportunity of 

 witnessing the migrations of the squirrel, it appeared to me that he v/as 

 not only an unskilful sailor, but a clumsy swimmer. It was (as far as my 

 recollection serves me of the period of early life) in the autumn of 1808 

 or 9 ; troops of squirrels suddenly and unexpectedly made their appear- 

 ance in the neighborhood, but among the grey ones were varieties not 

 previously seen in those parts ; some were broadly striped with yellow on 

 the sides, and a k\v with a black stripe on each side, bordered with yel- 

 low or brown, resembling the stripes of the little chipping squirrel {Ta- 

 mias Lysteri.) They swam the Hudson in various places between Wa- 

 terford and Saratoga ; those which I observed crossing the river were 

 swimming deep and awkwardly, their bodies and tails wholly submerged ; 

 several that had been drowned were carried downward by the stream, and 

 those which were so fortunate as to reach the opposite bank were so wet 

 and fatigued, that the boys stationed there with clubs, found no difficulty 

 in securing them alive or in killing them. Their migrations on that oc- 

 casion did not, as far as I could learn, extend farther eastwardly than the 

 mountains of Vermont ; many remained in the county of Rensselaer, 

 and it was remarked that for several years afterwards the squirrels were 

 far more numerous than before. It is doubtful whether any ever return 

 westwardly, but finding forests and food suited to their taste and habits, 

 they take up their permanent residence in their newly explored country ; 

 there they remain and propagate their species, until they are gradually 

 thinned off by the effects of improvement, and the dexterity of the sports- 

 men around them." 



8. Species CaroUnensis, Gmel. Little Carolina Gket Squir- 

 rel. 



Ecureuil gris de'la Carolina. Bosc, ii, 96, pi. 29. 



EssENT. Char. Smaller than the Northern Grey Squirrel, 

 tail narrower than in that species, the length of the body ; color 



