Squirrels and Other Fur-Bearers

Birds, simultaneous action in flight, 143, 144.

Calf, 138.

Cat, nursing a young woodchuck, 131, 132; catching red squirrels, 137.

Chipmunk, 10; its winter underground and reappearance in the spring, 15, 16; courting, 16; a solitary creature, 16, 18; nervousness of, 16, 18; chipping and clucking, 16, 17; storing food, 17, 18, 23, 31, 137; adventures with cats, 18–21; digging its hole, 21, 22; furnishing the house, 22; food of, 23, 31; an evidence of sociability, 23, 24; an adventure with a weasel, 24–26; attack by a shrike, 27, 28; eating strawberries, 29, 30; a game of tag, 30; never more than one jump from home, 30; shifting quarters, 31; its fear of the weasel, 83; its providence, 136, 137.

Coon. See Raccoon.

Dog, the churn-dog and the woodchucks, 34–36; farm-dog and fox, 56, 57, 64, 65; moisture of his nose, 67, 68; fight with a weasel, 82, 83; encounter with a mink, 91, 92; farm-dog and coon, 94, 95; coon-dog and coon, 96, 97; farm-dog and skunk, 139; a race with a red squirrel, 141–143. See Foxhound.

Fox, gray, 71.

Fox, red, tracks in the snow, 38, 39, 53, 54, 90, 91; bark of, 53; gait of, 54, 126; the author’s first meeting with, 54, 55; chased by hounds, 56, 62, 64–68; chased by the farm-dog, 56, 57, 64, 65; tail of, 57; method of trapping, 58–61; behavior when trapped, 61, 139, 140; farm-yard depredations, 62–64; devices for eluding the hounds, 65–68; a method of calling, 68; burrows and young of, 69, 70; daylight naps of, 70; resemblance to the dog, 70, 71; a young one in the market, 70, 71; and mink, 90, 91; beauty and grace of, 126, 139; humiliation when captured, 139, 140.

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Fox, silver-gray, 67.

Foxhound, baying of, 55, 56; the chase of the fox, 56, 62, 64–68; moisture of his nose, 67.

Hare, northern or varying, haunts of, 38, 42; habits of, 41, 42; tracks in the snow, 42; two suits of fur, 42, 140; pursuit and capture by a lynx, 141.

Lynx, 141.

Mink, eating a muskrat, 47; tracks in the snow, 90, 91, 93; encounter with a fox, 90, 91; an enemy of the muskrat, 91; an encounter with a dog and a mysterious disappearance, 91, 92; as an eater of fish, 92; gait of, 93.

Mouse, jumping, habits of, 120; a captive, 121–124.

Mouse, meadow, life beneath the snow, 115, 116; a bold swimmer, 116, 117.

Mouse, white-footed or deer, beauty of, 111; easily captured, 111; haunts of, 111; hoarding habits of, 111, 112; thwarting a piratical red squirrel, 112, 113; in the beehive, 113, 114; reducing a shawl to its original elements, 113, 114; seven in a trap, 114; tunnels and tracks in the snow, 114, 115; a female with young, 117, 118; an attempt to assist a friend in distress, 118, 119.

Muskrat, nest-building of, 43–47; burrows of, 47; winter activity of, 47; devoured by a mink, 47; a doorway visit, 126, 127.

Opossum, 98; tracks in the snow, 106; extending its range, 106; foot of, 106; a captive, 106–108; skin said to be fetid, 108; young of, 108, 109; under the study floor, 109, 110.

Partridge, 125, 126.

Porcupine, increasing in abundance, 98; a fight with an eagle, 98; quills as weapons of defense, 99–101; on Slide Mountain, 101–105; stupidity of, 103; sound made by, 104; propensity for gnawing, 105.

Rabbit, gray, haunts of, 38; under the study floor, 38; nest and young of, 39, 40; winter fare of, 41, 125; a captive, 132–134; her life full of fear, 140; a tragedy revealed by the snow, 140; stupidity of, 141.

Raccoon, reappearance after hibernation, 94; a fight with the farm-dog, 94, 95; fighting qualities of, 95; coon-hunting, 96, 97; ravages in the corn-field, 96; a captive, 127, 128; courage of, 139.

Rat, pursued by a weasel, 83, 84.

Shrew, 119, 120.

Shrike, 27, 28.

Skunk, tracks in the snow, 48; awakening from hibernation, 48; [p149] habits of, 48–50; as a pet, 49; its weapon of defense, 50–52; a plunderer of hen-roosts and birds’ nests, 50, 51; an instance of its fearlessness, 52, 98; under the study floor, 109; at the doorstep, 128; not easily ruffled, 128; fearlessness of, 139.

Snake, black, 137.

Squirrel, black, 8.

Squirrel, flying, flight of, 3, 5; habits of, 5, 6; nest of, 6.

Squirrel, gray, habits of, 6–8; nest of, 7; hiding nuts, 10, 13, 126.

Squirrel, Mexican black, 3, 4.

Squirrel, red, a bold leap, 3, 4, 6; habits of, 9, 10; snickering of, 9, 13, 14; food of, 11–13; hoarding habits of, 12, 136, 137; his song and dance, 13, 14, 15; a game of tag, 31; pursued by a weasel, 88; a piratical raid by, 112, 113; his life full of fear, 135, 136; frequently caught by the cat, 137; a race with a dog, 141–143.

Squirrels, gathering chestnuts, 1, 2; as parachutes, 2–5; tails of, 5; mirth and mockery of, 10.

Thrasher, brown, and weasels, 85.

Turkey, fox and, 63, 64.

Turtles, 138, 139.

Weasel, in pursuit of a chipmunk, 24–26; carrying food to its den, 72–75; an exploration of a weasel’s hole, 74–79; food of, 77, 80, 85; depredations among the chickens, 80–82; a fight with a, 81–83; dog and, 82, 83; its boldness and bloodthirstiness, 83, 86; terror inspired by, 83, 86; a fight with a man over a rat, 84; a woman’s experience, 85; a destructive enemy of the birds, 85; as a tree-climber, 86; hunting in packs, 86, 87; a contention over a mouse, 87; cannibalism, 87; pursuing two rats, 87, 88; tracks its game by scent, 88; pursuit of a red squirrel, 88.

Woodchuck, 28, 29; haunts of, 32; adventure with a swimming man, 32, 33; odor of, 33; its whistle, 33, 130; form and motions of, 33; a churn-dog’s tactics, 34–36; hole of, 36; hibernation of, 36, 37; about the house and study, 129; a mother with her young one, 129, 130; captives, 130–132; a friendship with a kitten, 132.