New Ulm weekly review. [volume] (New Ulm, Minn.) 1878-1892, 1879-01-01
Whistling to Squirrels.

Plum-porridge stood. and Christmas.pie.
Whistling to Squirrels.
Mr.. John Muir, the naturalist, has a.
short paper in Scrsbner for December on
"The Douglass Squirrel of California, -
of which little is known in the East In
which he relates the following UNIQUE ex-
pe1ience:
Though cannot of course expect all
my readers to sympathize fully in my
admiration of the little animal, few hope
will think this sketch of his life too long.
l cannot begin to tell here now much he
has cheered my lonely wanderings during
all the years | have been pursuing my
studies in these glorious wilds; or how
much unmlstakable humanity [ have
found in him. Take this for example:
One calm, dreamy, Indian summer morn
ing, when the nuts were ripe. I was
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 breakfas: before going 10 their reg
ular harvest work. While l was busy
with my own breakfast heard the thud-
Ding fall of two or three heavy cones
from yellow pine near me, and stole
nolselessly forward within about tweenty
feet OF the base of it to observe. In g.
few moments down came the Douglass,
The breakfast burrs he had cut off had
rolled on the gently sloping ground into.
clump OF ceanothus bushes, but he
seemed to know exactly where thew
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 20
sition for getting good hold with his
long sickle teeth he managed to drag
them up to the foot of the tree he had
cut them from, moving backward. Their
seating himself comfortably, 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
anything to eat, because the lower scales
are barren, but when he had patiently
worked his way up to the fertile ones be
found two sweet nuts at TIE base OF each.
shaped like trimmed hams, and purple
spotted like BIRDS egg. And notwith-
standing these cones were dripping with
soft balsam, and covered with prickles,
and SO strongly put together that boy
would be puzzled to cut them open with
lack-knife, he accomplishes his meal
with easy dignity and cleanliness, max
ing less effort apparently than man
would in eating soft cookery from q
plate.
Breakfast done, l thought I would
thistle tune for him before he went to
work, curious to see how he would I've af-
fected 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 small dead limb opposite me, and
composed himself to listen. l sang and
whlstled more than dozen tunes, and as
the music changed his eyes sparkled, and
he turned his head quickly from side to-
side, but made no other response. Other
squirrels, hearing the strange sounds,
came around on all sides. chipmuuks al
so, and birds. One of the birds, hand
some, speckle- breasted thrush, seemed :
even more interested than the squirrels.
After listening for while on one of the
lower dead sprays Of pine, he came
swooping forward within few feet of
my face, where he remained futtering in.
NAA~ 800 Az AoAA q 11AAutC VI oO. sOSld'u1US
himself with whirring wing beats, like a
hummi1g-bird i'll front of a flower,
while could look into his ewes
and see his innocent wonder. -,...
By this time my performance must have
lasted nearly half an hour. l sang or
whistled "Bonnie DOOM" Glass O. Cow
RE" "O'er the Water to Charlie sBon-
ME Woods O. Cragie Lee,'' etc., all OF
which seemed to be Listened to with
bright interest, my first Douglass sitting
patiently through it all, with his telling
eyes fixed upon me until I ventured to
give the sod .Hundredth," when he
screamed his Indian name, aPillillooeet.
turneo tail, and darted with ludicrous
haste up the tree out of sight, his voice
and actions in the case leaving some1
what profane impression, as he had said
'1'll be hanged it you get me to hear any
thing so solemn and unpiney." This
acted as a.signal for the general d1sper-
sal OF the whole hairy tribe, though the
birds seemed willing to wait further de-
velopments, music being naturally more
in their line.
Professor Huxley has been speaking
recently at Manchester or the subject Of
the decay of nations, in the natural de-
cadence Of which he did not believe
that theory, he was inclined to think,
having been invented by towards to ex-