The news and herald. (Winnsboro, S.C.) 1877-1900, 1881-05-24
Tie Squirrel d Bold Leaper..

One reason u0uDtloSs, why squirrels are
80 bold and reckless in leaping thro ugh the
trees is that if they miss their hold tho fall
will not hurt them. Every species of
trce.squirrel seems to be capable Of sort
of ludimentary 1ylng-at least of making
itself into parachute, 80 as to ease or
break fall or a leap from great height.
The so-called flying squirrel does this the
most perfectly. 1t opens its furry vest
ments, leaps into the air, and sails down
the steep incline from the top of one tree
to the foot of the next as ishtly as a bird.
But other squirrel know the same trick,
only their coat-skirts are not 80 broad. One
day my dog freed red squirrel in tall
hickory that stood in a meadow on the
side OF a steep hill. TO SO what the
squirrel would do when closely pressed,
climbed the tree. AS drew near he took
refuge in the topmost branch, and then, as
l come on, he boldly leapcd into the air,
spread himself out upon it, and, with a
quick, tremulous motion OF his tail and
legs, descended quite slowly and landed
upon the ground thirty feet below me,
apparently none the worse for the leap, for
he ran with great speed and escaped the
dog in another tree.
n recent American traveller in Mexico,
gives still more striking instance of this
power Of squirrels partially to neutraize
the force OF gravity when leaping or failing
through the air. Some boys had caught a
Mexican black squirrel nearly as large as a
cut. 1t had escaped from them once, and,
when pursued, had taken leap of sixty
feet from the top Of a pine tree down upon
the roof of house without injury. This
feat had led the grandmother of one of the
boys to declare that the squirrel was be-
witchcd, and the boys proposed to put the
matter to further test by throwing the
squirrel down preclpice Blk hundred feet
high. Our traveller intcrfcrcd, to see that
the squirrel had fair play. The prisoner
was conveyed III FELLOWSHIP to the edge
or the cliff and the slip opened, 50 that lie
might have his choice whether to remain a
captive or to take the leap. He looked
down the awful abyss and then back and
sidewise-his eyes glistening, his form
crouching. Seeing no escape IN any other
direction, ''he took flying leap into space
and lluttcrcd rather than fell into the abyss
below. His legs began to work like those
OF swimming poodle-dog, but quicker
and quicker, while his tail, slightly ele-
vatcu, spread out like festhcr fan. A
rabbit of the same weight would have
made'thc trip in about twelve seconds; the
squirrel protracted it for moro than half a
minute, and t1andel on ledge of lime
stone, where we could see him plainly
squat on his hind legs and smooth his
rntfled plumage, after which he made for
the creek with a flourish of his tail, took Il
good drink and scampered away into ,bn
willow thlcket."
The story at first blush seems incredible,
but l have no doubt our red squirrel would
naye s gFea maaf ha sdR fasX bs s
would be proportlonately larger
The tails Of the squirrels are broad and
long and flat, not short and small like
those of gophcrs, chipmunks, weasels, and
other ground rodents, and when they leap
or fall through the air the tail lsarched and
rapidly vibrates. A squirrels tail, there
fore, is something more than a flag; it not
only aids mm in flying, but 1t serves rs a
cloak, which he wraps about him when he
sleeps. Thus some animals put their tails
to various uses, while others seem to have
no use for them whatever. What use for
tail has wood chuck, or a weasel, or u
mouse2 Has not the mouse yet learned
that it could get in its hole sooner If it had
no tail2 The mole and the meadow-mousc
have very short tails. Rats, no doubt
put their tails to various uses The rabbit
has no use for tall---it would be in Its
way; while its manner Of sleeping is
such that it does not need tail to tuck
itself up with, US do the coon and the fox
The dog talks with his tail; the tail OF the
'possum is prehcnsile; the porcupine uses
his tail in climbing and for defense, the
beaver as tool or trowel; while the tail Of
the skunk serves as a screen behind which
it masks its terrible battery.