A YOUNG NATURALIST. 



359 



" It is a quimichpatlan" said he to me, in a low voice. 



" A flying squirrel," I repeated to Sumichrast. 



Lucien was about to speak ; but I pointed to the Indian, 

 who, half -hidden behind a dead trunk, was carefully examin- 

 ing the top of an ebony-tree. At this moment PEncuerado 

 placed his gun to his shoulder and fired. He had taken 

 good aim — an animal came tumbling down about ten paces 

 from us, spreading out, in its convulsive movements, the 

 membrane which joined its legs together and covered it al- 

 most like a cloak. 



Lucien took possession of the " flying squirrel," and, as 

 they always go in pairs, my two companions went in pursuit 

 of the other, which they soon succeeded in killing. 



" Are we going to eat these animals ?" asked Lucien. 



" Why shouldn't we ?" I rejoined. " They are squirrels ; 

 and, even supposing that they were rats, as the Indians as- 

 sert, their flesh should be none the less savory." 



" Can these animals fly for any length of time ?" asked 

 Lucien. 



" As a matter of fact, they do not fly at all ; but the 

 membrane which unites their limbs acts like a parachute in 

 keeping them up in the air, and materially assists them in 

 some of their prodigious leaps." 



" Can they run as fast as squirrels ?" 



" Nothing like it ; they do not, indeed, often come down 

 to the ground ; but their activity on trees renders them not 

 unworthy of their family." 



" I thought," observed Lucien, " that bats were the only 

 mammals that could fly." 



" There is also the flying phalanger" observed my 

 friend ; " an animal of the marsupial order, which is a na- 

 tive of Australia, and somewhat resembles the opossum. 

 It is said that, when it catches sight of a man, it hangs it- 

 self up by the tail, and does not dare to move ; but I think 



