OCTOBER, 1917 
FOREST AND STREAM 
471 
Y OU know him just as well as I do— 
that saucy little red rascal that swore 
at you for invading his private do¬ 
main and setting up that great white object 
near his storehouses. I can see him now, feet 
braced, tail over his back, head on one side, 
defiance in every move, sputtering and 
chattering at the man thing that dared to 
invade his territory. But after a while he 
calmed down and went tearing off through 
the trees to tell all the rest about it. Of 
course he didn’t mean to be impolite; he 
simply felt that all the woods was his par¬ 
ticular property. So day after day he 
watched you, sometimes you knew it, and 
sometimes you didn’t. More often you did, 
for it is almost impossible for a red squir¬ 
rel burning with the consuming fires of 
curiosity to remain silent. Probably you 
watched him—some—and cursed him softly 
under your breath, standing there near the 
deer trail, while he advertised your pres¬ 
ence to the four winds of heaven until 
some inquisitive blue jays, attracted by the 
racket, came along, and then—did you stay 
there watching for deer to come that way? 
But there are other sides to this small 
devil of the tree-tops. Of course he en¬ 
joyed stealing into your tent while you 
were away, just to see if there was any¬ 
thing good for squirrels to eat; but did you 
enjoy it when you found that he had been 
into the corn meal bag? You called him a 
thief then, but if you had seen him earlier 
in the year, when he thought the old 
mother partridge was off her guard, taking 
that little chick out from under her very 
eyes, you would have thought worse of 
him than ever. Had you followed him as 
he went through the trees, seeking defense¬ 
less nestlings to murder—for he has a most 
tremendous flesh appetite, which he really 
has no business to have at all—then you 
would have condemned him by drumhead 
court-martial and ended his career with a 
22 or a charge of 8’s. 
Yes, he is a robber, a murderer, and the 
noisiest little fiend loose. Call him all the 
names you want to, and then: stop a min¬ 
ute. How about that day last sugaring 
time when two little red-furred forms went 
madly scampering over the snow, up the 
trees, down, and along the old rail fence? 
They were having a glorious time, and 
would you forget the picture? Later. Look 
in that hollow tree. Do you see that sharp 
nose sticking out? Yes, Adjidaumo’s mate 
lives there with four cunning little scamps 
that are as cute as—all baby squirrels. No, 
I won’t say all babies. You may have one. 
And here again is concentrated all the ten¬ 
derness and mother-love of the wild. But 
we do not often get a glimpse of this side 
of the little chap’s life, and in the bustle 
he makes getting ready for winter we lose 
sight of it entirely. 
Do you realize what that same bustle 
means to him? Many a human would do 
well, in these days of “economy preachers,” 
to take a leaf from his book. He has no 
money, but is a free spender of time and 
energy. In fact, he is the most untiringly 
industrious of all the small wood-folk. 
Even as early as July he has begun to 
hoard the first white pine cones, and until 
the first frosts he is busily running from 
tree to wall, from bush to stone, hiding his 
treasures under leaves and in hollow 
stumps; sometimes even in the old farm¬ 
houses when he is close to civilization. If 
there is a corn field near by, be sure he has 
levied on that, though not quite equal to 
carrying away an ear at a time like his 
gray cousin. Beechnuts, hickory nuts, and 
butternuts come, and profusion abounds. 
He has already tucked away the wild apples 
deep under dirt and leaves, safe from 
freezing. Now the last acorns drop and 
he has even less time for play, for he 
knows. that the snows will soon come to 
the northern woods, and when he wants 
fresh food he must climb to the hemlock 
boughs with the crossbills and pine gros¬ 
beaks. But the coldest days have no ter¬ 
rors for his unfailing courage, and the 
follower of the winter trap line is greeted 
as cheerfully and violently as his brother 
of the canoe. After all is said we could not 
spare him, for even with his vices he remains 
the optimist of Mother Nature’s family. 
M OUNTAIN quail are getting very 
scarce in all parts of the Stanislaus 
National Forest, reports Ernest Bach 
in California Fish and Game, and it may 
be a matter of a few years only until they 
are extinct. Very little hunting is done 
for this species alone, but quite a number 
are bagged during a season by hunters in 
pursuit of other game. Their nests are 
made on the ground, and they naturally 
become a prey to snakes and small preda¬ 
tory animals during the nesting period, 
mature birds as well as young and eggs 
being taken. 
Mountain quail leave their winter haunts 
about April, traveling toward the higher 
altitudes, some stopping along the way to 
build their nests and rear their young, 
while others cross the summit. The fall 
migration begins the latter part of August, 
and the birds return to altitudes of from 
two to three thousand feet about October, 
and here they winter. They feed on grass, 
seeds, berries and pine nuts. 
A S soon as there is a noticeable food 
shortage, attention is immediately 
directed toward wild life as a food 
supply. Most of the European countries 
at war have fortunately prevented extermi¬ 
nation by passing rigid laws. In the present 
crisis, says California Fish and Game, it is 
very important that every tendency to aban¬ 
don temporarily the seasons and bag limits 
on game should be quashed. Maximum use 
should be made of wild birds and animals, 
but the future as well must be considered. 
Every hunter and fisherman can do his 
part in helping solve the food problem by 
preventing waste. Waste is always crim¬ 
inal, but it is doubly so at the present time. 
The man who kills a deer far from camp 
and is too lazy to see that the whole car¬ 
cass is used for food, should be subject to 
fine and imprisonment. By salting part of 
a limit catch of fish all can be used as food. 
It is to be hoped that every hunter and 
fisherman in the state will take sufficient 
interest in “preparedness” to see that every 
deer and duck shot, and every fish caught, 
is utilized for food. In so doing it will 
make possible the shipping of other food¬ 
stuffs from this country to our allies. 
