Daily Los Angeles herald., 1878-11-24
Whisiling to Squirrels.

has short paper in Scribner for
December, on "The Douglass
SOU irrel of California" of which
little is known in the East-in
which he relates the following
unique experience:
Though l cannot, of course, ex.
pect all my readers to sympathize
fully in my admiration of this little
animal, few, hope, will think this
sketch of his life too long. 1 cannot
begin to tell here how much he has
cheered my lonely wanderings DUR
ing all the years have been pur-
suing my studies in these glorious
wilds; or how much unmistakable
humanity l have found in him.
Take this for example,: One calm,
creamy, Indian summer morning,
when the nuts were ripe, l was en-.
camped in the upper pine woods of
the south fork Of the San Joaquin,
where the squirrels seemed to be
about as plentiful as the ripe burrs.
They were taking an early break
fast before going to their regular
harvest work. While L was busy
with my own breakfast 1 heard the
thudding fall of two or three heavy
cones from yellow pine near me,
and stole noiselessly forward with
in about twenty feet of the base of
it to observe. In few
moments down came the
Douglass. The breakfast burrs he
had cut off had rolled on the gently
sloping ground into q clump OF
ceanothus bushes, but he seemed
to know exactly where they were,
for he found them at once, appar-
emily without searching for them.
They were more than twice as
heavy as himself, but after turning
them into the right position for
getting o good hold with his long
.slckle.teeth, he managed to drag
them from the root of the tree he
had cut thena from, moving back
ward. Then seating himself,
he held them on end, bottom up,
and demolished them with easy
rapidity. A good deal of nibbling
had to be done before he got any
thing to eat, because the lower
scales were barren, but when he
had patiently worked his way up,
he found two sweet nuts at the
base of each, shaped like trimmed
hams and purple spotted like birds
eggs. And Notwithstanding these
cones were dripping with soft bal
sam, and covered with prickles,
and so strongly put together that a
boy would be puzzled to cut them
open with jack-knife, he accom-
plished his meal with easy dignity
and cleanliness, making less effort
apparently than man would in
eating soft cookery from plate.
Breakfast done, ] thought l
would whistle q tune for him be-
fore he went to work, curious to
see how he would be affected by it,
He had not seen me all this while:
but the Instant | began he darted
up the tree nearest to him, and
came out on a small dead limb op.
posite me and composed himself to
listen. / sang and whistled more
| than n dozen tunes, and as the mu-
sic changed his eyes sparkled, and
he turned his head quickly from
side to side, but made no other re-
sponse. Other squirrels, hearing
the strange sound, came around on
all sides, chipmunks also, and birds.
One of the birds, a handsome,
speckle-breasted thrush, seemed
even more interested than the
squirrels. After listening for q
while on one of the lower end
sprays of pine, he came swooping
forward within few feet of my
face, where he remained f1uttering
in the air for half a minute or so,
sustaining himself with whirring
wing-beats, like humming. bird
in front of flower, while 1 could
look into his eyes and see his limo.
cent wonder.
By this time my performance
must have lasted nearly half an
hour. l sang or whistled Bonnie
Doon,n "Lass o. Gowrie," "O'er
the Water to Charlie,n "Bonnie
Woods o. Grsgie Lee," etc., all OF
which seemed to be listened to with
bright interest, my first Douglass
sitting patiently through it all,
with his telling eye fixed upon me,
until L ventured to give the sold
Hundredth," when he screamed
his Indian name, Pillilloceet, turn
Ell tail, and darted with ludicrous
haste up the tree out of sight, his
voice and actions in the case leav.
ing somewhat profane impression,
as if he hsd said, "pll be hanged
If you get me to hear anything so
solemn and un-piney." This acted
as a signal for the general dispersal
of the whole hairy tribe, though
the birds seemed willing to wait
further developments, music being
naturally more in their line.