4 2 4 



RECREATION. 



AMATEUR PHOTO BY F. S. MERRILL. 



AN INTERRUPTED LUNCH. 



Winner of 28th Prize in Recreation's 5th Annual 



Photo Competition. 



Made with Korona Camera. 



To gratify this propensity I covered his 

 room with dry leaves one day while he 

 was out on a visit in another part of the 

 house. It was indeed amusing to see the 

 little chap revel in those leaves. He had 

 never seen any before, yet he knew per- 

 fectly their use. He first reconstructed his 

 bed. Out cams part of the cotton and 

 household furnishings and then he began 

 to .stuff bits of leaves into his face until 

 it was swollen out of all shape. Cautiously 

 glancing about, as if to note whether any 

 one was watching to find his nest, with a 

 dash he was in his den. When the nest 

 was furnished and filled to" bursting, he 

 continued to carry in material, although 

 there was scarcely room for himself. 



What a marked influence those dried 

 leaves seemed to exert on him, awakening 

 into life much of his wild nature that 

 had previously lain dormant ! He would 

 peer cautionsly out, watching his best 

 friends with grave suspicion. We were 

 at a loss at first to account for this strange 

 change of manners. Certainly there was 

 no reason for it. It was simply nature ; 

 a trait- of his ancestry quickened into life 

 by the magic touch of environment. It 

 Was none the less interesting to watch 

 the little creature in his blind maneuvers, 

 as he sought to obey the laws of his ances- 

 tors. Often have I tried to tire him out 

 When he had loaded his saddlebags and 

 Was ready to enter his den. If he caught 

 my eye, not a step did he budge, but 

 motionless as an image he sat until I 

 looked away and gave him a chance of slip- 



ping in, in plain sight to be sure, but then 

 1 was not watching ; that was the point. 



Those dried leaves inspired him to that 

 charming cluck of his kind when curiosity 

 or suspicion is aroused; also the shrill 

 whistle of fright. Apparently the attain- 

 ment of these inherited powers so pleased 

 him that he was ever on the watch for a 

 pretext that would justify him in testing 

 his voice. Certainly his actions could only 

 be interpreted in this way ; otherwise he 

 must have been in a state of wonderment 

 or alarm several times an hour. When it 

 became impossible to find anything that by 

 a stretch of imagination could excite his 

 suspicion, he would steal up to my desk and 

 patiently wait for me to move or turn, so 

 he would have an opportunity to whistle 

 and rush off in mad, headlong fright. 



As the fall days shortened he became less 

 and less active, his appetite failed him, and 

 he would often sleep the best part of the 

 day. Later he would sleep an entire day or 

 even 2 days. His appearance outside his 

 den became irregular and finally ceased 

 entirely. While suspecting the nature of 

 this sleep our curiosity prompted us to 

 investigate. Cautiously opening the nest, 

 we found him well in the center, round as 

 a ball, and cold and stiff as in death. His 

 limbs on being gently pulled sprang back 

 as with the death rigor. Not a trace of 

 respiration or heart beat. It did not seem 

 possible that hibernation could so complete- 

 ly stop all bodily functions. For fully an 

 hour he was placed by the fire before any 

 sign of softening or relaxation of the mus- 

 cles appeared, but even then there came 

 no token of returning life. Finally I de- 

 tected a slight contraction of the muscles, 

 and there followed a most interesting 

 awakening. For some time there was a 

 nervous twitching of the fore feet, and the 

 eyes would ooen occasionally. At length 

 it was manifest that his head was wide 

 awake, but not so the rest of his body. I 

 believe he knew us, for he was on my knee 

 and showed no sign of fear or wonder. 

 There he lay quietly, and slowly the control 

 of his forward feet came back to him. He 

 even attempted to drag himself about a 

 little, though the entire hind portion of his 

 body was paralyzed. It seemed strange 

 that one part of the body could be so com- 

 pletely dormant, and the other in posses- 

 sion of all its functions. Slowly he gained 

 control of his hind legs, but at first with 

 uncertain motion. When quite himself he 

 was not at all sprightly, and that night 

 again went into the winter sleep. 



Some weeks later our curiosity led 11 3 

 once again to disturb his dreams. The 

 result on that occasion leads me to think 

 that the awakening is not a pleasant ex^ 

 perience. While holding him in my hand 

 and while the muscular reaction was going 



