The Cecil Whig. [volume] (Elkton, Md.) 1841-current, 1875-10-16
THE AMERICAN CHIPMUNK.
BY DIR. CHARLES c. ABBOT.

| With the first sweet blossoms of the
! Epigaa, and long before the foremost
warbler sreets his old-time home with
sleesome songs, our little chpmunk (or
ground squirrel here has reused himself
from his long Winters nap, and, shifting
| the south wind, as it whirls the dead leaves
about, scampers to and fro while the sun
shines, and dives into his Winter quarters,
! 1t may be for whole week, if the north
wind whispers to the tall beech trees.
But the clustering days of March give
then, with more courage, "chip" faces
the music Of the winds, blow they from
whatever quarter, and darting along the
| top rail of our zig-zag fences, chatters,
scolds, and calls at and to his equally noisy
companions. They know full well that
they have the Summer before them, and
while determined to enjoy it, begin early
and in good earnest to make arrangements
for its coming duties We watched several
pairs of them from March to November,
during the last year (1S74,) and our sketch
| is based on numerous notes made at defer
ent times.
Until the weather became fairly settled,
and really Spring like in temperature, these
lililc chipmunks did not frequently show
themselves, and then only in the middle of
the day. The occurrence of a cold storm
they appeared to fortell by twenty four
hours, and resumed their alternating sleep,
becoming lethargic, and very difficult to
restore to consciousness. A pair that we
dug out in March, having two days before
re- entered their Winter quarters and be-
come again torpid, were apparently lifeless
when first taken up in the hands, and not
until after several hours warming did they
become lively and altogether themselves
again. This seemed to US the more curl
Gus. in that they can respond to favorable
even when the thermometrc change is
really but few degrees.
On the 3rd of May a pair made their
appearance in the yard of our residence,
having a southern outlook, and on the edge
of steep descent of seventy feet; which
hillside is thickly wooded, and harbors
scores of these little chipmunks, or ''ground
squirrels" as they are more commonly
called From the fact of these little ami
mails living wholly under ground, and it
being stated that their under ground homes
were quite elaborate, we determined to wait
until the pair in our yard had completed
their excavations in and under the stone
wall, and arranged their nest, which time
we judged by their actions, and then seek
ing out the home of another couple, which
was readily accessible, we undertook to
expose the nest and its approaches. This
we did on May Goth. The nest contained
five young, not more than forty eight hours
old. The two entrances were at the foot
of large beech tree standing about six
feet from the brow of the hill. The grass
alone grew about the tree, and the holes on
the surface Of the ground were very con-
spicuous. No attempt at concealment had
been made; but this is evidently because
there is here almost total absence of their
particular enemies. Animals soon learn
this fact, and their homes and habits vary
with the knowledge. From the right hand
entrance to the nest was an intervening
space of nine feet traversed by cylindrical
passage somewhat serpentine in its course,
which made the distance really about twelve
feet. The nest itself was oval, about twenty
inches in length and ten inches in height.
1t was lined with very fine grass. We had
hoped to find several passages leading from
| the nest and two or more "extra" nests,
or magazines for storing away food, but no
trace of them was to be found.
On the 23rd of June, six young chip
hunks made their appearance about the
stone wall in the yard, and to these, with
their parents, We will now confine our at
tention. 1t puzzles US now when we think
| of it, to imagine when this company of
eight chipmunks took any rest. Very fire.
quently during the Summer we were astir
| at sunrise, but the chipmunks were already
on the go, and throughout July they ap-
peared to do little but play; which sporting
by the way, is very animated. They seem
to be playing at what children know as
"tag," i. e., they chase each other to and
fro, and try not simply to touch, we should
judge, but to bite each others tail. The
way in which they scamper along the
tapering points of a paling fence is simply
astonishing; but however mad may be their
galloping, let hawk come near, and in a
moment every one is motionless. If on a
fence, they simply squat wherever they
may be at the time, and trust to remaining
unnoticed. If on the ground, and not too
far from their burrows, which is not often
the case, they will dart to their nests with
an incredible celebrity, going, we believe,
the whole length of their passage way to
the nest, turning about, and retracng their
steps to the entrance, from which they will
peer out, and, when the danger is over,
reappear and recommence their sports
These little animals play merely for plays
sake, and have no more important object
in view than amusement. Indeed, SO far
as we have studied animal life, this indul-
gence in play, just as children play, and for
the same reasons, is common to all animals.
We have often seen most animated move
ments on the part of fishes that could be
referred only to play.
That some work was accomplished dur
ing July by our eight chipmunks we have
no doubt, as early in August we dug out a
nest beneath an oak, on the hillside, and
we found, besides the nest proper, two
nest-like cavities, and in one of which
that most distant from the nest-was about
a quart of yellow corn (maize.) We judge,
therefore, that these magazines" were
dug out by the chipmunks late in the Sum-
mer, and similar ones, no doubt, were ex-
cavated by the chipmunks in the stone wall.
What they did with the dirt we cannot
guess. Certainly not particle of it could
be found about the nests entrance.
! About August 18th they commenced to