16 WILD NEIGHBORS CHAP. 
bring home the greater number of trophies; the 
quantities thus killed are almost incredible now. 
Out of these excessive multitudes grew those 
sudden and seemingly aimless migrations of innu- 
merable hosts of squirrels which justly excited 
wonder half a century ago. Thousands upon 
thousands, of this species usually, would suddenly 
appear in a locality, moving steadily in one direc- 
tion. These migrations occurred only in warm 
weather, and at intervals of about five years, and 
all that I have been able to find notes upon were 
headed eastward. Nothing stopped the column, 
which would press forward through forests, prai- 
ries, and farm fields, over mountains and across 
broad rivers, such even as the Niagara, Hudson, 
and Mississippi. This little creature hates the 
water and is a bad swimmer, paddling clumsily 
along with his whole body and tail submerged. A 
large part, therefore, would be drowned, and those 
which managed to reach the opposite shore were 
so weary that many could be caught by the hand. 
Of course every floating object would be seized 
upon by the desperate swimmers, and thus arose 
the pretty fable that the squirrels ferried them- 
selves over by launching and embarking upon 
chips, raising their tails as sails for their tiny 
rafts. 
The motive which impelled the little migrants to 
gather in great companies from a wide area, and 
then in a vast coherent army to begin a movement, 
