THE CHRONICLES OF A CHIPMUNK. 



DR. C. C. CURTIS. 



Rex made his debut into this life amid 

 unique and startling surroundings. While 

 taking a walk one day early in the spring, 

 I came upon the devastated home of a chip- 

 munk. The author of this vandalism was 

 a collie.. In searching the debris I was 

 shocked to find the remains of a brother of 

 Rex, but further careful scrutiny failed to 

 reveal any trace of the parents or of other 

 members of the household. As I was view- 

 ing the desolation I saw the slight motion 

 of a little ball of fur clinging to a neighbor- 

 ing fence. I approached and discovered 

 Rex,. He accepted the situation without 

 emotion, possibly being too young or too 

 cold to run away. He was not over 5 

 centimeters long. At any rate he suffered 

 his beautifully pencilled anatomy to be 

 picked up without protest and seemed to 

 nestle in my hand with satisfaction, making 

 no effort to move or escape. 



We never learned whether Rex was left 

 an orphan in the destruction of his home 

 or whether his parents escaped. 



A certain seriousness in the character of 

 Rex amounting almost to melancholy at 

 times, led me to believe that Rex was the 

 sole surviving member of the household. 



The problem of feeding Rex sorely per- 

 plexed us at first. He was averse to all 

 the delicacies of the season and it was with 

 great satisfaction that we finally saw him 

 partake of his first dinner of crumbs of 

 bread soaked in warm milk, after having 

 his nose moistened in the mixture. From 

 that time he grew strong. 



The third day of his stay with us he 

 made the acquaintance of Waggles, a little 

 pup, who, like himself, had been left an 



HIS FIRST LESSON. 



orphan. This had happened before he had 

 his eyes open to the realities of life, and 

 he had been forced to accept the hospitality 

 of our cat, who had been robbed of all but 

 one of her kittens of the same tender age 

 as Waggles. 



The old cat, it was evident, had no love 

 for Waggles, but her mother nature could 

 not turn away from his. helpless condition, 



and she came to attend to him faithfully; 

 not only giving him his rations regularly, 

 but teaching him to wash himself in the 

 most approved cat fashion. 



Rex and Waggles soon learned to know 

 each other, but Rex never permitted any 

 familiarity. Some people were mean 

 enough to say he was jealous of the more 

 rapid growth of Waggles, while others 

 thought he did not approve the pup's flip- 

 pant and frivolous actions. It was the 

 dignified bearing and reserve, together with 

 the splendor of his exquisitely pencilled 

 coat that gave the chipmunk the sobriquet 

 of Rex. Whatever was the cause of this 

 reserve, certainly it was interesting to 

 watch the 2 animals carry on conversations 

 by a sort of telegraphic code, using their 

 noses as a key board. Waggles was a regu- 

 lar visitor for a time to the home of Rex, 

 and they talked in that way, separated 

 only by the barriers of Rex's castle. This 

 acquaintance, however, never ripened into 

 a friendship, and after a little they drifted 

 apart and never spoke when they passed. 

 Possibly Waggles' ears burned whenever 

 he saw Rex, but it is more reasonable to 

 suppose there was nothing in common in 

 their natures ; their thoughts, associations 

 and tastes were entirely different. 



The diet of Rex changed with surpris- 

 ing rapidity until it comprised nearly 

 everything the house afforded. 



The most interesting feature of his life 

 was revealed in the role that instinct played. 

 He had little to learn under the artificial 

 conditions which circumstances thrust up- 

 on him. Instinct supplied all demands; 

 education had no call We could not make 

 a bed for him even in his second month, 

 but that be pitched it all out and re- 

 constructed it, although it was impossible 

 to see wherein it was improved. Without 

 a lesson he knew the proper way to hold 

 a nut, and with marvelous instinct culled 

 the good from the bad. He gave the calls 

 of his kind, though manifestly never having 

 heard them, and as the summer drew to a 

 close he providently provided for the win- 

 ter. His appetite, which was always col- 

 lossal, became alarming. He got up 

 nights to eat, and, not content with eating 

 almost constantly, he insisted on keeping 

 his larder empty by concealing whatever 

 food might be given him. It was amusing 

 to see him hide the nuts, quite in sight, 

 between the bars which formed the floor of 

 his house, stamping them down with all his 

 might, and apparently believing them hid- 

 den. 



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