1909 
March 22 
Ano^p^r 
woodl and 
tragedy 
* * ******* 
Passing through the wood path just below the peach 
orchard this afternoon, I found the tail of a large Gray 
Squirrel. It could not have been there yesterday noon when 
the Emersons and I came home that way for it was in the very 
middle of the path, in an open place, and too conspicuous 
to be overlooked. Moreover, it was perfectly flexible and 
the thick end was still wet with fresh blood. Apparently 
it had been cut off or rather bitten off, close to the 
Squirrel’s body, but by what? And what had become of the 
body of the Squirrel? I suspect a Fox had something to do 
with the matter but this is pure assumption, unsupported by 
any evidence, for I found no tracks or other signs. The 
ground was too hard frozen to register them. Thus the 
affair is quite mysterious and likely to remain so, I fear. 
