The Jasper weekly courier. [volume] (Jasper, Ind.) 1858-1922, 1881-04-15

tac reason. donbtlcss. wLv suujrrels
are 80 bold and re akIess III In ning
through the trees il tho, n they miss
their hold the fall will not hurt them.
Every species OF t~rco-squirrcl seems ID
be capable Of a sort Of rudimentary
living at least Of making itself into 4
parachute. 80 rs 70 ease " break Il fall
or leap from q great height. TIA
so-called fy~ing-suuirreI does this the
most perfectly. II opens its furry vest.
ments. leaps into the air, and sails down
the steep incline from the top Of one
tree % the foot Of the next Is lightlv AZ
Q bird. hut other squirrels know fhe
same trick. only their ,oat-skirts are
not 50 broad. One day nv dor treeda
red squirrel IN a tall hickory that STOOD
N q meadow on the side Of a steep hill.
~ see what tie squirrel wouldd do when
closely pressed. climbed the tree.
As drew near he took refuge in the
topmost branch. and then. a l came on.
he boldly leaped into the air. spread
himself out upon il. and. with 4 quick.
tremulons motion Of his tail and legs,
descended quite slowly and landed
upon the ground thirty feet below me.
apparently none the worse for the lean.
for he ran W 18th great speed and ESCAPED
the dog in another tree.
A recent American traveller III Ne xico
gives 2 still more striking instance az
this power Of squirrels partially 10 ncu.
tralize The force Of gravity when lean
ing or falling through the air. Some
boys hai caught a Mexican black SOUR
rel nearly as large as a at II had
escaped from them once. ard. when
pursued. had taken a leap Of sixty feet
from the top Of a pine tree down upon
the roof Of 4 house without injury. This
feat had led the grandmother Of one OF
the boys TO declare that the squirrel
was b~ewitched. and the boys proposed
TO put the matter 70 further test by
throwing the squirrel down q prccipice
six hundred feet high. Our traveller in
terfered, 70 see that the squirrel had
fair play. The prisoner vas convened
ia q FELLOWSHIP TO the edge Of the elf
and the slip opened. 50 that he might
have his choice whether 10 remain 4
captive or TO take the leap. He looked
the awful abyss and then back
and sidewise " his eyes glistcning. his
form crouching. Seeing no escape in
any other direction. The took 4 living
leap into space and uttered rather
fell into the abyss below. His
legs began &c work like those Of a swim
ming pood!e-dog. but quicker and
quicker. while his tail, slightly elevat-
ID. spread OUT like . feather fan. A
Of the same weight would have
made the trip In about twelve seconds;
The squirrel protracted il for more than
half q minute,n and ..landcd on a ledge
limestone, where we could see him
squat on his hind legs and
smooth his RULED piumage. after which
le made for the creek with d flourish Of
his tail. took q good drink and scam
away into the willow lhicket:''
The story at first blush seems incrcd-
BILE, but | have no doubt our red sauir-
el would have made the leap safely;
hen why not the great black squirrel.
its parachute would be proper
ionately large?
The tails u the squirrels are broad
md long and Hat. not short and small
Ike those Of gophers. chipmunks. wca-
els. and other ground rodents. and
when they leap or fall through the air
he tail i archcd and rapidly vibrates.
! SQUIRREL tail, therefore. is something
" lila ~ AMIl4Iut< <NIltiIIIIx IlOIt
han a flag; il not only aids him IN Ivy
ng. but il serves as = cloak. which he
about him when he sleeps. Thus
ONE animals put their tails TO various
scs, while others seem to have no use
Dr them whatever. What use for d tail
rs . wccr chuck. or q weasel. Or n
Las not the mouse yet learned
y could get In its hole sooner II il
nd no tail? The mole and the mead
w-mouse have very short tails. Rats.
q doubt, put their tails to various uses.
he rabbit has no use for a tail-it
be in its way; while its manner
{ sleeping Is such that It does not need
tail 70 tuck itself up with. as do the
Don and the fox. The dog talks with
IS tail; the tail Of the postum is pre-
ensile; the porcupine uses his tail in
limbing and for defense. the beaver rs
tool Or trowel: while the tail u the
<unk ervcs as a screen behind which
masks is terrible battcry.-John Bur-
13xuIo - Xr,YI,.1xfo