Iowa voter. [volume] (Knoxville, Iowa) 1867-1874, 1870-03-24
CnIPMONKs,


stronger arms than yours wrought At the
tasks 80
parties have been at work at it, yes. forty
wears or more. In those days, and on the
farm that I am thinking OF, . wan was
built as much to get rid Of the stone as to
form partition. Great fiat slabs at the
bottom were quite buried under the soil,
which had gradually sifted in upon them.
Then came the great round boulders and
stones of every mould, worn smooth BY
the weather, or rather, stones which would
have been smooth If nature had not
chosen them to practice her pencil
on. For see, what color there is in that
dark gray heap OF stones when you look
sclosely-black, brown of many shades,
yellow, green, greenish white, red, and
grays Of every tint-these show what an
eve for color Nature has. The colOrs are
not laid on, but grown on. 7 They are
the smiles and bushes of lichens. What
luxurious lives these stone MOSES must
have, eating and drinking. the air, and
putting their arms around stones as q
mother would around her babes, going to
sleep on them all winter, and laughing all
summer! The wind cannot shake them,
for they have no branches worms cannot
blight them, as they have neither leaves
nor blossoms moles and grubs cannot
cut off their roots, as they have none.
Their very names are dissued and people
call them weather stains.
But away goes part of the wall to the
Dryinr Of the crow-bar. Stand from
under! Here comes the heap-rolling,
sliding, pitching headlong, and behold |!
You have uncovered city! Lazy, un-
summed spiders drag their big round bel
lies off in bewilderment for hiding place.
Centipedes wriggle right and left IN
downright haste. Bright black-mailed
bugs fash in the light for a second and
are gone. Ants, one, two, three kinds,
rush and race with fiery indignation.
Here are grubs, worms, cocoons, webs,
trails, that indicate kind Of highway !;
here are nests of leaves and sticks, and
from cosy corner up stairs, cupboard like,
rol out the shucks and shells of former
stores, and nuts Of several kinds fall down
,llike old creeds in modern hands, retain
ing their perfect form but with all the
meat eaten out of them long ago. And so
it is along the whole line of wall, up the
slope, over the hill, far along the border
of the farm, it is one vast stone city for
the smaller folk. Here is your Petr9a,
city hewn out Of stone.
What joy is this wall to Trip and to
Trips young master! Trip has chased q
woodchuck into the wall, and every day
he lives in hope of catching him. The
woodchuck has spent the summer there.
He goes out every morning for his clover,
his salad, and his melons. AT suitable
time Trip takes after him with an alacrity
of throat and leg that leave nothing to bs
desired; and every time he reaches the
wall lust in time to bite at the shadow OF
tail. Alas the world is full of shadows
to man and dog. Our opportunities vanish
lust as we are prepared to seize them
Trip got up earlier, but the clover-eater
vet earlier. Trip was in earnest, but
woodchuck still more So Trip ran for
another's life, but marmot ran Tor his
own. can read in Trips eyes what he
is thinking fThis is just my luck, always
a minute toe late; I'll catch him next
time see if I don't! He's coward. any
how.n And he trots back to the house
with his tongue out, To brag to the other
dogs what he almost did. After all, Trip
is not SO unlike human beings as one.would
think. Boys are not smart enough to catch
old rats experienced squirrels, wood
chucks, and diplomatic crows.
Speaking of squirrels and boys, / am re-
minded of letter.
NORTH BRANFoRD, Ct, Feb. II, 1870.
"DRAR SIR: Knowing you take an in
4erest in all things animate and inanimate,
from the pebble to the pyramid, from the
mouse to the mastadon, l write you what
r do not believe you have ever learned
Though am free to admit you know q
GOOD many thiAgs), viz something about
the habits Of the chipmonk, or cheeplng
squirrel. ~
"Of course you know it burrows in the
ground, but do you know anything OF the
.snbterranean labyrinthian windings it's
chambers, cells, SC. OF the quantities OF
walnuts, chestnuts, pepperage stones, ber-
-;es of various kinds, seeds Of skunk cab
5bage. rye, corn, dogwood, plums, &c,
sometimes found in these cells! DO you
know that these subterranean passages
are from three to four feet below the sur
face so as to get below the frost and are
! rod or more in length, with diverging
passages to their granaries or store-rooms,
siormitories, sky-parlors, &C.?
ado YOU know that by digging to these
store-rooms you will find perhaps peck
of walnuts. chestnuts, corn, &c, as the
case NAV be Do you know that the beds
in their sleeping apartments are tit for q
king to lie upon, being made up OF moss,
leaves and fine grasses? And lastly, 90
you know that chipmonk can carry three
walnuts in his mouth at time? Il u
YOU knew before all ! have told yoi, !
have written in vain. Yours truly,
"R. CLARK"
Let me ask some questions Of eur Bran
ford friend, who will accept our thanks
for letter which shows that he has eyes
and a habit of using them. Do you know
that the ground squirrels name is 1an,tas
.shi atus? Here you have been all your life
calling it chipmonk, or chipmuck, or chip,
or chipping squirrel, or ground squirrel,
striped squirrel, to be told in the book II
is written Tanias shiatus. How sweet Is
knowledge!
Did you know that the Hackee, for that
is another name, can carry seven hickory
nuts instead of three! did. They eat
three and then carry four in the pouch
and mouth-that's seven. Did you know
that they always bite off the nib, or sharp
ends Of the walnut before empowering
thems They do, and they carry four In
stead of three only, in pouches and mouth.
Did you know that after retiring 70
their subterranean apartments, when cold