The Toledo chronicle. [volume] (Toledo, Tama County, Iowa) 1873-1924, 1876-12-21
THE UNDERGROUND CAS-
TILE,

L III I NDEhNIhOt NJ SAS-
TIE.
LISTEN, and | will tell YOU of a
creature who builds his castle under
ground, who scoops passages, hollows
out tunnels, and digs trenches beneath
our very feet.
You have no need to be afraid of
him; happily he is very small, and
though he will fight tiercely enough
with his own kind, he will not modest
you if you do not interfere with him.
Neither does he often appear above the
surface of the earth; his life of fiery
energy and unceasing toll is almost en-
tirely spent in his own underground
fortress. Would YOU like sight of
him? You must get up very early
some summer morning, that is his
feeding time, and he is very punctual.
You must creep along through the
dewy fields on tiptoe Chs ears are so
so quick), till you notice a little hillOck
of freshly-turned soil; and there,
making his early breakfast off the
worms, you will see the object of your
search, the lord of the subterranean
castle, the mole.
One of the entrances to it is sure to
be close at hand, and he is down the
hole in an instant. At first sight he
looked dull and stupid, yet you had
time to notice the fierce eagerneSS with
which he threw himself or his prey,
50 that you could not help thinking
what savage beast he would be if he
were only bigger. And you saw, too,
his soft, velvety fur, not the least soil
upon it (thcrc novur Isl, Though he has
been boring all night in the damp soil.
| And you thought how peculiarly his
| fore feet and nose were formed for
that boring which is the business of
his life, and the work he has to do.
| And YOU wondered where his eyes
were, being so buried in the fur as to
be hardly visible.
Indeed whether he sees at all is
doubtful; what use is sight to crea-
ture that spends its life in darkness d?
Do not pity him, however, as though
that life We're dull and cheerless.
When the mole is seen above ground
| he looks indeed as if he had little to
live for; but replace him in his native
soil, and you would not know him to
be the same. lie digs out the earth
with untiring energy, though he has
no spade to dig with, nothing but his
teeth and claws He scampers through
his long passages with a life and an
activity which tell of enjoyment as
much as the fish finds in the water, or
the summer swallow on its wing.
Could you follow him, you would be
astonlshed at the complicated nature
of his castle. He does not burrow at
random, as many people suppose, but
has a plan in his head, and works out
that plan with regularity and exact
ness, coveriag large space of ground
with his roads and tunnels.
First of all, the mole scoops himself
out a large hall or chamber, which Is
to be the center as it We're of his
fortress. Next he digs out two circu,
lar galleries all around, one above the
other, and opening into it. Then he
makes seven or eight high roads lead,
ing off in different directions, so that
, if danger arises in one quarter, he cal
easily escape by another. And these
roads are always made in a Stralgh
, line, though how he manages to d.
this is marvel, for you must remem
Der it is quite dark. If you will onl,
shut your eyes, and try to walk in
straight line, you will find how mucf
smarter the mole is than you.
, But when he has done all this he ha
not finished, for he wants another room
for nursery. So little way Off h
2 makes a commodiouS apartment, ant
then lines it most carefully wit
blades of grass and young wheat, S
1 as to form a nice soft. cradle for tn
little ones.
1t is not known for certain why tn
l mole should give himself the heav
labor of boring out these numerou
passages. Probably they help in hi
pursuit of worms, and, also, they Civ
. him additional security when he rt
y poses in his fortress-hall, the work
man, and yet the master of it all.
But, at any rate, if you chance to Sc
. him, ask you to look upon him wit
\ respect, for the sake of his perseverance
and his activity, and the work he gel
- through. And l ask you likewise
:, admire the wisdom of that God VIII
has fitted the humble mole for IL
darkness just as carefully as he hi
fitted you and me for the light and tt
sunshine.-Yonng Reaper.