The Logan Republican. [volume] (Logan, Utah) 1902-1924, 1903-01-13
ANIMALS IN
WINTER
Personal Experience Of Animal
Life In New York Suburbs.

\
Two summers ago ! took up my resi-:
dence in one of the thickest tracts Of
woodland on the Palisades I was SO
pleased with advantages II presented for
the study of animal life that. MS autumn
came on, l still stayed there, and when
winter, In its turn, succeeded, | decided
| to remain Indeed, | live there now.
| happy In having acquired many new IDEAS
| in regard to the ways of animals In win
Everyone knows how the gray squirrel
| in summer time makes for himself nest
| of twigs or leaves In the branches Of trees
| and retires to II In his leisure to sleep
| or gnaw at the nuts that he has gathered
in the vicinity During the summer ! saw
| near my house many such nests and !
| caught glimpses Of their owners capering
along the branches, or peeping at me
| over some thick limb or from behind some
| excrescence on the tree trunk.
| When the nights began to get cool, ana
long before the frost set in. the gray
| squirrels changed their summer quarters
and made for themselves nests IN holes
| high up In the larger trees. knew many
| of these retreats for oftcutimcs ] would
| see the squirrels near them and they
| would run into these very holes IL l I'M
| duly alarmed them.
| One day in October. while sitting very
still for long time on a rock under some
| thick bushes, ! saw gray squirrel very
| busy on the trunk of n dead cedar tree,
| He was stripping Off the hbrous bark. lie
! would roll large wisp of 1t in his teeth
and carry It OF to the great hollow oak
which he had chosen for his winter dwell
| ing, / sat there watching him for nearly
two hours. and in that time, he made
| three journeys for cedar bark. | naturally
concluded that that gray squirrel would
| continue to live In the oak all winter,
| but when the frost grew severe he moved
| to some warmer place. Where his new
| retreat was ! could not learn, Thus, he
| made at least three changes of habita-
tion, all according to the condition of the
| weather,
OF the red squirrels | got much more
exact and interesting Information. All
| through the summer there was whole
| colony of them In the trees around my
house. After much watching In the
month of October | located what sup
posed to be the winter retreats of two
parties of them. One nest was In hol-
low beech and 1t had several jewellers In
common. The other was In hickory,
and, as far as / could learn. there never
was in 1t more than one squirrel. and ne
lived there all through october ana NO
vember. These nests were not more than
seventy or eighty yards from my win
dows. so kept continual watch on them
At last there came heavy RAJ OF SNOW ,S.
red squirrel In the hickory tree moved.
He did not move alone, but went with
six others, probably those from the beech
| nearer my door. In the ground under this
chestnut tree there Is hole about as
large as a rat hole, and into this the red
squirrels focked to pass the sererest part
of winter.
The nest of the red squirrel like that OF
it's gray brother Is made of cedar bark
I saw fragments of the bark on the sides
| of the hole under the chestnut tree.
Twenty times during the winter ] put
handful OF nuts at the mouth or THIS
hole. IL put them there at midday, they
| often remained there untouched all day
and through the night, but they. were In
variably taken away within half an houi
after sunrise. | found that all squirrel.
come out of their nests about sunrise
on many days they go back In less thar
an hour and do not come out again al
day
NV cellar has served as a winter retrca
, for many animals Late In the fall som'
garter snakes came In there to hibernate
and left them to sleep In peace. Whef
, snow came a mink also took up his abode
, there. He soon discovered and ate sev
eral of the garter snakes TWO shrew'
, put in an appearance, and they came on
on sunny days, through a little hole II
front of the door, to enjoy the warmth
OF the winter sun. They had regula
! time for appearing usually about invent,
minutes to ., and on these occasions they
: took away the little morsels OF mea
which / placed by the door for them
MANY other creatures last winter share'
my dwelling with me, numerous large
eyed wood mice being among the numbe
, that kept me company.
one evening "A gentleman called to Sc
me- | had just finished tea and laid tn
tray with the tea things upon it on tol
, of a snakes cage near my elbow
Look at your elbow said my visitor.
There was a large brownish-red woo'
mouse sitting upon the edge of the teacul
that l had been drinking from
"Sit STILL" said |. The Is an old frien'
, and will take his tea If we don't scar
him"
, / had hardly said the words when tn
wood mouse went down into the cup AM
. | licked up a few drops of tea and the un
I dissolved sugar that remained at the bot
/ tom
,, In every room in my house met thos
} beautiful wood mice. but as they hav
! none of the Objectionable characteristic
, of the common and repulsive house mice
being. on the contrary, pretty In colorin
and tame and gentle | liked TO have ther
| as acknowledges, and hope they wi
. invade my house this winter
During the first summer / spent in tn
woods caught seventeen flying squirrels
q i gave away all except six. which ! KEEP
in a cage In my snakeroom Little did
: dream at the time | was securing tn
woods for these squirrels that In the IA
o | would have a colony of them in littl
4 wooden pavilion at the back of my house
y | In a cavity In the roof of this paviio
| two or more of them made "A nest.
would often hear them while reading !
p the pavilion. and would sometimes Sc
! nights, for they are nocturnal in thei
. | habits Frequently l would put nuts on
! to them, which they always took away.
winter, but, like the red and the gra
squirrels. they had third and warme
q retreat.
. 1t happened that for my Gagged fiyin
9 squirrels / had large basket of hickor
4 nuts in a little room of the dining-roon
v After II grew cold | seldom went Int
1 this room. but one day on entering 1t
n was surprised to find that rats were car
: rying away my hickory nuts. A ira
: caught all the rats, but the hickory nut
a continued to go, so ] put the basket upo
J. a shelf near the ceiling, where the rat
v could not possibly climb | thought tina
they were safe on the shelf, but whe
= / went to the basket some time later
!. found II nearly empty. Where the nut
|, had gone i could not tell.
4 Now, there was in that room loung
upholstered in hair cloth, with sprin
I bottom. One day 1t was necessary I
y move this lounge ] lifted one end an
!, gave II vigorous pull. The rattle
some loose objects rolling about inside {
n II surprised me, so | gave the lounge
!. good shake, whereupon two flying squl
q rels jumped out and ran into hole und'
2 the stairs. They had stolen my hickoI
n nuts and made their winter storehous
/, and dwelling in the lounge.
"a on cutting open the haircloth and stuf
y ing, j found among the springs the nu
that they had purloined, SO big cole
" tion had they made that filled lars
y handbook and two hats besides.
i. After that the nying squirrels lived