The Red Squirrel 159 



really his friend, and after another attempt he would 

 get inside again. "The ice once broken," he would 

 visit you regularly during your stay, accepting food 

 of almost any kind. A few weeks of this, and you 

 become very much attached to the mischievous little 

 rascal, and after camp days are over, the recalling 

 of his escapades is a pleasant memory. 



This same curiosity that endears him to the campers 

 makes him a terror in the region of the trappers. 

 In this connection Dr. C. Hart Merriam writes: 



"From an overhanging limb he looks on with 

 unfeigned interest while the trapper arranges the 

 bait for the marten or fisher; but a moment later he 

 has sprung the trap, and is chippering with exulting 

 derision at the result. He is often caught, it is true, 

 but half a dozen others are always ready to take his 

 place, and it affords little satisfaction to the hunter, 

 on his lonely rounds through the snow-clad forest, 

 to find a worthless squirrel in his trap, instead of the 

 valuable fur for which it was set." 



The red squirrel has several enemies, but of these 

 the most deadly are the hawk, the owl, and the weasel. 

 The weasel is the most relentless of all, and by his 

 sense of smell pursues the squirrel through the tree 

 tops. The squirrel is by far the fleeter, but, for some 

 reason not known, he apparently goes crazy when he 



