The Columbian. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1866-1910, 1894-03-02
THE CAUSE OF A SQUIRREL.

Tom BeltOn had nau an easy morn
ing of it. He had walked softly into
the old forest of chestnuts and hick-
ories, rifle on shoulder, sat down on a
gig log, laid his rifle on his knee and
waited.
The hunting had been proceeded
as follows:
A chatter, bark a little way in the
woods. Tom would draw back the
hammer of his rifle and lean forward,
Il streak of gray would flash down q
tree trunk, then all would be still.
Next minute the streak of gray and
the noisy chatter would be in tree
overhead, perhaps Toms rifle would
come up, Toms head would lift, there
would be Il sharp crack and little
bundle of gray would come whirlng
down heels over head, long bushy
tail flying out like the tail of comet,
and Tom would get up, walk over q
few steps, pick up the little bundle of
fur and drop the squirrel into his game
bag.
This was the rather tame way the
hunting had gone and Tom had a good
bag long before noon.
Nevertheless Tom was soon to have
an adventure.
He had concluded to go home and
had walked down towards the creek
and was coming out of the edge of the
woods when he heard a loud bark
A big buttonwood tree hung over the
creek, and on one of its branches,
more than half way up, he saw a squlr-
rel larger than any he remembered
having seen for a long time.
1t was lying along the limb, its body
hattened close to the bark, and only
its sharp nose and beaded eyes show
ing He would never have noticed it
If 1t had not barked when he came
out of the woods.
Tom quickly brought his rifle to his
shoulder. The little black knob on
the sight of the barrel showed against
the rusty gray of the squirrels fur. A
sharp crack. The squirrel held on
with the claws of its fore feet, then
its hold gave way and it dropped.
But twenty feet lower down its body
fell across the fork of small branch,
and after minutes swaylng, remain
ed still, the head and fore part of its
body balancing the weight of the hind
quarters on the opposite side of the
branch.
1t was too big Il one to lose, even
though he had several already.
1t was not hard climbing, and he
had soon reached the main branches.
Just there the tree split off, going up
in two shafts. At the juncture of
these the wood had rotted away in
the centre and left dark cavity.
Immediately above the cavity and
about ten feet over Toms head was
the squirrel caught in the limp. Catch
ing hold of a small limb he drew him
self up so that his hand just reached
the limb on which was suspended the
object of his climb
Suddenly the wood cracked, the limb
broke and he felt his feet slip.
He grasped at the trunk but there
was nothing to hold. He knew he was
falling into the opening below.
Another instant and he was in dark
ness and he sank into some soft,
spongy substance, which broke his de-
scent. He came to stop standing up
right
A strong, pungent, woody odor filed
his nostrils. A cloud of sitting pow
der almost chicken him.
He tried to bring his hands down to
feel about But there was not suffi-
cient room more than just to crook
his elbows He couldn't get his hands
below the level of his ears.
He knew he had fallen into the hol-
low trunk of the buttonwood. The
soft stuff under his feet must be the
rotten pith and punk of the walls
which had fallen down to the bottom
Looking up he could see an irregular
circular patch of sky partly blotted
out by mass of twlgs and leaves on
the upper branches. The opening, as
near as he could tell, was six or eight
feet above his head
1t was not a great distance; but,
with his hands above him and nothing
TO catch hold upon, 1t might as well
have been a hundred
He felt all around the inside surface
Of the hollow with his fingers: but he
only sank his nails into soft punk
which broke off when he put any strain
upon 1t.
He began to be somewhat frightened.
1t really was a bad business. He could
not stand In his present cramped posi-
ton long and obtain the use of his
muscles. Already he felt a numbness
in his fingers, as the blood left them.
He couldn't climb up without some
thing to grasp; he couldn't get out be-
low.
The sides of his prison? They were
too thick to dig through with his nails.
fop outside Of the lining of rotten wood
he knew there was a heavy rind of
live, tough fibre and bark, how thick
he could only imagine.
The thought of cutting suggested to
him that he had knife with him; but
where was II? At last he recalled that
II was In the upper breast pocket of
his flannel shirt; he had on no coat
But 1t wouldn't do him any good.
The blade would be broken or dulled
long before he could cut an opening
through the walls.
lie began to grow desperate, when
there came sudden idea to him,
which made him rack his mind for
some plan to get at his knife.
The upper pocket Of his shirt was