The chipmunk is an engaging little creature, tamer even than the squirrel, and he will often come close to the house and sometimes enter it in search of food; it is the dogs that generally drive him away, for no dog, however well behaved, can resist chasing a chipmunk. He is easy game, for he seldom climbs a tree, and unless he can find refuge in his hole or under the wood-pile his life is soon the forfeit.
Do not look in a tree for the chipmunk’s nest, you will not find it there, but perhaps at the foot of the very pine under which you are standing, or beneath the large rock which lies in your path there is a small hole opening into a little hollow, and in this underground chamber is the soft, warm nest and the store of food which the chipmunk has providently laid by. Here it sleeps through the cold winter months, waking only to eat a few nuts, seeds, or grains of corn, soon to drowse again, and remain asleep until spring has come once more.
When you see a small, brown, long-bodied animal, not much larger than a rat, running swiftly along the ground, you may be pretty sure it is our neighbor
The Weasel
His home is probably near the river or the borders of the meadow, but he hunts his game with such intelligence and persistence it is possible to meet him almost anywhere. We frequently hear this little animal spoken of, not always with praise, and it is strange he so seldom crosses our path, for he does not stand in much fear of his human neighbors. The weasel is very quick and active, and also quite inquisitive; it lives on frogs, birds, eggs, and mice, and the farmers complain that it seeks larger game in their poultry yards.
Mr. Dan Beard tells an interesting story of a walk in the woods where he found a weasel asleep in a deserted crow’s nest at the top of a tall tree. It is possible the little brown intruder might have been able to explain just why the nest was empty of all save himself.
The sharpness and cunning of the weasel’s character is shown in its face. A low forehead, pointed nose, eyes small and penetrating plainly denote these qualities, yet it is a most interesting little animal and well worth all the study and observation you can give it.
A very small neighbor to be found on the borders of the woods or a shady road is the pretty, harmless
Salamander
Seldom more than two and one-half inches long, this little creature is slender and daintily made, with a tail quite the length of its head and body. Its skin is smooth, not scaled like the lizard’s, and is generally brilliant in color. One variety is bright red, darker on the back, where it has spots of a brighter red encircled with dark rings. I have found many of them in Pike County, Pa., and always in damp places, though never in the water. There is another kind that lives in the water, but my little red friends, while loving dampness, remain always on land. You will generally find them under stones or logs, and after a shower they are also to be met in the open, though they do not travel far from their haunts. Take one up in your hand and examine the delicate forefeet, so much like fairy hands. They will cling to your finger in the most winning fashion and you may examine the little animal at leisure, for it is clean and harmless. If you wish to keep the salamander for further study, place it in a perforated box with damp moss or even damp blotting-paper, and remember to keep it moist, otherwise it will simply dry up. I know whereof I speak, for a friend who was with me in the mountains, wishing to carry two of the salamanders home with her, placed them in a box without moisture of any kind and when we lifted the lid the next morning the poor little creatures were dead and as dry as two sticks.