along clear and distinct for several feet, 

 when suddenly a hole in the snow, with 

 some upturned leaves in the bottom, 

 shows where he dug out a breakfast. 

 How he is able to unerringly locate 

 nuts under a foot of snow is one of 

 the interesting problems naturalists have 

 yet to solve. It would seem that he has 

 a sense of location that lies dormant in 

 man. Possibly it is the sense of smell, 

 but the power must be very acute to 

 penetrate a deep snow. 



On a cold day when the songs of 

 winter birds are reduced to low twitters 

 and calls it stirs a person's blood up to 

 hear that defiant scolding voice from 

 some giant oak or hickory. Amusing, to 

 watch how he runs along the branch 

 pausing every little bit to give renewed 

 emphasis to his scolding chatter. And 

 few sights in Nature are prettier than to 

 see him perched on a branch overhead 

 nibbling away at a walnut. Sometimes 

 you can hardly tell which, a squirrel 

 w^th a tail attached or a tail with a 

 squirrel attached. In spite of the several 

 sins that might be laid to his calendar 

 he would be sadly missed in the woods, 

 especially in winter. 



Probably the prettiest little track is 

 that made by deer-mice. It is a tiny 

 creature that seems more of the nature 

 of an elf than a mouse. When moving 

 slowly there is a long double chain 

 across the snow, but when hurried, go 

 by leaps varying from six to eighteen 

 inches. Do you know this little mouse? 

 A tiny creature about three inches long 

 with tail even longer, light gray on back, 

 white underneath, white feet. The ears 

 are large, very thin, eyes also large with 

 a look of wild life in them though not in 

 the sense of timidity. Frequently there 

 is the print of its tail in the snow. The 

 trail will be along the snow for some 

 distance, several yards, may be a rod, 

 then it will disappear down into a hole 

 that leads to an under-ground tunnel. 

 I have disturbed many a nest while 

 working in the woods, always a source 

 of regret to me. They will be in the 

 hollow of a log, a wood-pile, or any dry 

 place. The outside is of leaves and 

 fibers, the inside of rabbits fur or some 

 equally soft material. Surely the rigors 



of a January night have no terrors for 

 him. He lays up provisions for winter 

 but not always near home, so has to 

 travel from store-house to store-house. 

 Perhaps he would be better ofif if the 

 store-room were under-ground but if it 

 were, another feature of winter life 

 would be missing. 



The field or meadow-mouse is well- 

 named. He is seldom found anywhere 

 else. Almost twice as large and some- 

 times larger than the deer mouse, short 

 ears and tail and more cylindrical body, 

 the whole having the effect of being 

 compactly built even if rather long. He 

 has none of the elfish appearance of the 

 deer-mouse, is plain and common-place. 

 After the snows have melted, an in- 

 tricate net-work of tunnels through the 

 stubble shows their path-ways in winter. 

 Their tracks will be about corn-shocks 

 especially if it is unhusked. And you 

 may rest assured there will be a family 

 to every shock. The tracks do not have 

 the same suggestion, to me, of wild life 

 that the others do, but may be that is 

 prejudice. Like all ramblers they will 

 suddenly dive under the snow then after 

 a time the tracks re-appear. 



Sometimes other tracks will be seen 

 about corn-shocks, such as the rats, 

 in my estimation the despicable of all 

 things that roam the fields or woods. 



Occasionally a possum ventures out 

 after a thaw, a mink or coon sally forth. 

 Once in a while a fox will glide stealth- 

 ily along the sand-ridge but they are not 

 common in this vicinity. Farther north 

 foxes are more abundant and every 

 spring a grand fox hunt is held in Har- 

 rison Township. Farther south-west 

 along the river bluffs they are quite 

 numerous. 



Bird tracks are always easy to find. 

 Dead weeds to which seeds still cling 

 form an excellent feeding ground. 

 Whether by accident or design it mat- 

 ters not but when a sparrow or junco 

 is pecking at the seeds a great many are 

 knocked off. For these there are always 

 birds on the ground waiting so the snow 

 is sprinkled with their tracks. Golden- 

 rod, rag-weed, iron-weed, asters, lambs- 

 quarter and weeds of a like nature, 

 whose seed-pods do not open all at once, 



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