272 NORTHERN GRAY SQUIRREL. 



grations of these Squirrels, it appeared to us, that they were not only 

 unsltilful sailors but clumsy swimmers. One of these occasions, (as far 

 as our recollection serves us) was in the autumn of 1808 or 1809 ; troops 

 of Squirrels suddenly and unexpectedly made their appearance in the 

 neighbourhood ; among them were varieties not previously seen in those 

 parts ; some were broadly striped with yellow on the sides, and a few 

 had a black stripe on each side, bordered with yellow or brown, re- 

 sembling the stripes on the sides of the Hudson's Bay squirrel, {S. Hud- 

 sonius.) They swam the Hudson in various places between Water- 

 ford and Saratoga ; those which we observed crossing the river were 

 swimming deep and awkwardly, their bodies and tails wholly sub- 

 merged ; several that had been drowned were carried downwards by the 

 stream, and those which ^vere 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 occasion did not, as far as we could learn, extend farther east- 

 ■ward than the mountains of Vermont ; many remained in the county of 

 Rensselaer, and it was remarked that for several years afterwards squirrels 

 were far more numerous there than before. It is doubtful whether any 

 ever return to the west, as finding forests and food suited to their taste 

 and habits, they take up their permanent residence in their newly explor- 

 ed country, where they remain and propagate their species, until they 

 are gradually thinned off by the increase of inhabitants, new clearings, 

 and the dexterity of the sportsmen around them. The other instance oc- 

 curred in 1819, when we were descending the Ohio river in a flat-boat, or 

 ark, chiefly with the intention of seeking for birds then unknown to us. 

 About one hundred miles below Cincinnati, as we were floating down 

 the stream, we observed a large number of Squirrels swimming across 

 the river, and we continued to see them at various places, until we had 

 nearly reached Smithland, a tovvTi not more than about one hundred 

 miles above the mouth of the Ohio. 



At times they were strewed, as it were, over the surface of the water, 

 and some of them being fatigued sought a few moments' rest on our long 

 " steering oar," which hung into the water in a slanting direction over 

 the stern of our boat. The boys, along the shores and in boats were kill- 

 ing the Squirrels with clubs in great numbers, although most of them got 

 safe across. After they had reached the shore we saw^ some of them 

 trimming their fur on the fences or on logs of drift-^vood. 



We kept some of these Squirrels alive ; they were fed with hickory 

 nuts, pecans, and ground or pea-nuts, {Arachis hypogcsa.) Immediately 

 after eating as much as sufficed for a meal, they hid away the remainder 



