The weekly Placer herald., 1854-07-15
For the Placer Herald


whether they appreciate the study itself
and the profound lesson it inculcatpS; ar
whether they think it worth their while
to investigate or record the m,,nv evilen-
ces Of '',nstinctive sagacity" which Cali
fornia presents to the man of oh>ervatI"n
You know too well at this period "f
our acquaintance the character OF the sub
jects | take pleasure in writing upon, to
require an apology from me for this
communication. It may he that some of
your readers, though absorbed in the busy
search after gold, which almost super
sedes all other occupations, and business,
if il does not Ohlterate the better and
more enlightened principles of our ma
lures, like myself avoid the stormy path
Of politics, and cling to- more c"ngenial
subjects. Ii is in this hope ! send you an
anecdote Of Natural History, worthy of
being ranked amongst the best of those
recorded in the "gleamings" Of the i'm
mortal Jessie.
The proprietors Of the house at which
I am now staying possessed very hrau
tiful and very tame squirrel. 1t was taken
i'm the first instance, believe from the
nest hy Indian Tom as IA present for our
admirable hostess. In its infantine state
~
every indulgence which affection con d
desire; and. in its progress to maturity,
daily developed some new attraction
which il constantly exhibited as if in gra-
titude for the Kindness hpsto~ ed upon it,
When | became acquainted with Miss
Fanny she wns about year old-the
very pink Of squirrels and certainly, the
most beautiful and attractive pet ever
.r Il. 81 -l,,
clean, with a magnificent brShy Y tai her
fur thick yeta delicate and soft; her eye,
lustrnus and flashing, and black as any
Circassian girl in the slave mart of Com
staltnOpe, or houses in its royal Seragio.
DOmesticated tn charm, her freaks were
as marvellous as amIsing-She would
scamppr about the house like kitten,
and never fnil-when an opportunity
offered to bite the strings of the Soda bot
ties to get their contents though she
would he deluyed on each explosion. A
rare customer, indeed. was Miss Fanny.
town. At other times, when Mt liberty,
she would jump from shoulder to shou-
der Of all rresent--then stop, and gaze
up in your face so coquetti>hly, so pleas
ingly, so tenderly, yet so sIily--v-ry much
lady, who has not quite lost the smell of
bread-and- -hutter; then she would take II
turn through the house, over the out
buildings, or up the adjacent trees, bur
always return 10 her nuts and better
cage, Ms often Of her own accord, as when
called hy her owner. From the highest
tree in the neighhOrh0od she would hurry
down in an instant when called l,y Mrs
H.. H,,.
legs half round her neck, and there nestle,
as quiet and as lovingly Ms the warnest
hearted child in the world. There was
something incomprehen-hle in the affrc-
tion Of this little animal, and, perhaps,
more so in the modes in which it hahltu
ally expressed that affection. | never
was So much at fault in assigning the
limits of mere instinct rs when watching
this creature; for. apparently in her
actions she seemed to he guided hy ref1ec
ton and foresight, and to exhibit at all
TIMES both pre-mediratinn and obedience.
Well, the moral of the tale lies in t is:
A fortnight ago Miss Fanny escaped from
her cage and disappeared, hy what means
mono could tell. All we know was she
bad gone, apparently for ever. N" where
could she I've found-nO where could any
tIutDg6 OF ueT O6 IOuHu LdHltHtHlIp1
was ut its highest pitch as search after
search proved fruitle-s. Every body re
GREETED poor little Fanny's fate. Even
the stage drivers, (who according to all
the young girls IN the country, are the
most hard hearted, good for nothing crea,
lures 10 the world,) feIt sorry and said 81"
Time parsed OMIT was no USE hopeing
any longer-the squirrel was gone for
ever. Things remained thus the vacant
cage was put aside, and the loss gradually
wearing away-when one fine morning,
fortnight after her disappearance, Miss
Fanny rushed suddenly into the house,
and few to her old nesting place on Mrs.
RPS lap. The poor thing was in de-
ploralile conditi :n-her beautiful tail was
half gone, her bright fur di>colored, her
spirits quite subdued, her body thin and
emaciatrd. She had evidently suffered
hard times in the woods. aud nothing
could exceed the pleasure she seemed to
experience in getting home again. She
showed it in variety Of ways-but in
none. perhaps, so much as the dislike she
now has TO go near the door. She ap-
pears to have the greatest dread of ven-
turing outside the house as if forwarned
by the evils of some past calamity.
Now what was the naotiue, think you,
inducing this squirrel to resign, after II
~hst. =.