Some Sierran Chipmunks 



403 



Hume, and at Horse Corral Meadow, but it does ascend along 

 the floor of the canon as far as the mouth of Bubb's Creek. In 

 the upper reaches of the canon, above Kanawyer's Camp, and 

 on the north side especially, there are broad gravelly stretches 

 interspersed with numerous clumps of manzanita brush, and 

 these are the preferred haunts of the Mariposa Chipmunk. 

 They were difficult to observe here, however, fleeing to cover 

 at the first hint of danger, and usually remaining hidden until 

 the observer's patience was exhausted. About camp more 

 favorable opportunities occasionally presented themselves, for 

 when all was still, with but a single occupant in the tent, and 

 he unobtrusively writing or otherwise quietly engaged, a chip- 

 munk would sometimes carry on exceedingly cautious investi- 

 gations of the neighborhood. There was one big yellow pine 

 near by that seemed an especial attraction, and, contrary to the 

 usual habit of the species, Mariposa Chipmunks were several 

 times seen here exploring bunches of pine needles at the ends 

 of limbs fifty or sixty feet from the ground. If the tree were 

 approached, the chipmunk usually vanished, apparently at once 

 disappearing into thin air in a fashion that was most exasper- 

 ating. The explanation of these disappearances was finally 

 supplied by one unfortunate individual caught in the top < a 

 little oak tree before he had time to scamper to the gro' 

 This chipmunk was seen to disappear in the upper branches, 

 and the tree was so small and so near by that it seemed im^ os- 

 sible for him to have descended unseen. A careful scrutiny of 

 each branch and twig brought no results until the eye was 

 caught by a slight movement. Then the chipmunk was see^^ 

 in plain sight, stretched out along a small branch, perfectly 

 motionless, but — an unfortunate oversight — with his long tail 

 hanging Hmply down, to be caught by the faint breeze that 

 was now waving it to and fro. 



Characteristics of the Mariposa Chipmunk that may be used 

 in distinguishing it from the other species of this region are as 

 follows : The choice of habitat, usually underbrush rather than 

 trees, and its habit of generally (though not invariably) de- 

 scending to the ground when surprised in the tree-tops ; the 

 rather dark coloration, the characteristic chipmunk stripes on 

 the sides not being so sharply defined as to be readily seen at a 



