The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1904-09-21
W.ALKING IN - FoREsrs.

when all the birds, save the feu-syeu
vireo and the indigo hunting, are SIT
ting silent in the depths of the woods.
The most noticeable sounds were those
Of the criekets in the grass, the dowsy
thrilling Of cleadas and the occasional
peep" OF hyla from the foliage Of the
trees. The coloring OF the wild flowers
had a strong suggestion OF autumn, for
the goldenrod was at its best, and
mingling with 1t were trumpet weed,
honest and great masses Of pearly
everlasting. All the shrubs along the
roadside were hung with garlands of
Wild elematis, and along the borders OF
the forests itself even the darkest spots
were lighted by great clumps OF the
white woods asters.
As / entered the woods the first living
creature to catch my eye was a
chipmunk, looking bright and cheerful
in spite of the heat. He did not seem
in the least afraid, and he was MUNICH
ing briskly at some blueberTies which
he had brought from a distance in his
cheek pouches. What impressed me
most at the moment, perhaps, was the
spotless condition of his fur. Here
was a little animal which lived in a
hole in the ground, grubbed in the soil
every day, and which at this season
lived chiefly on berries whose juice dyes
the hands Of every man who picks
them. Yet, on that shining coat before
me there was neither mud, nor dust nor
stain of any kind. No race horse,
fresh from the hands of a careful
groom, had coat than this. And so it
was with most wild things: it seems
thtt they mighta touch even pitch
without being defiled.
Watch a muskrat, delving in the
muddy bank of stream and then note
the brightness Of his giistening brown
coat as he sits on a stone by the water
to wash his face. mo man can work
in mud and dirt and keep his clothes
SO clean" The chipmunk showed no
sign of fear until had approached to
within about five yeards, and then he
stopped nlunching his berries and sat
up a little stralghter took another
step, and he said Chip stood quite
still, but he was not at his ease. He
moved trif1e and said "Chipp again,
and there was no more than trace Of
suspicion in the tone Then came a
series of cries at regular intervals:
i 'Chpi-chip--chip chip, until l took
one step forward, and with an extra
loud chip" he darted down the far
side of the stone into his burrow, and,
as walked away, l looked back to see
his saucy little peering from his door
way, as though he were waiting for
the coast to clear before resuming his
Eseat upon the rock above.
Soon / struck an old forest trail,
family marked by trees blazed years
ago. The marks Of the Ratchet, once
white and prominent, were now almost
grown over with bark, or so weather
stained as to be almost invisible ex-
Icept when close at hand The mar
row path was overgrown with ferns,
but here and there bruised or broken
fond showed that the wild things used
4 it STILL All around the trees grew close
together, and the light was dim, but
now and then there was an open space,
where the sunshine filtered through,
land glorified the messy rocks and the
1 fungus-covered trunks of fallen trees.
i / was crossing such an open space
when saw lying on bed of pine
needles in the shade before me, white
tailed deer whose warm, red coat was
flecked with brighter red, where spots
of sunlight danced across IT 1t was
a buck with well-grown antlers still in
the velvet, and he was looking full at
ms Will, baad rotcal a,3d ~, ,.s, -, u !,
out on either side felt that If |
took another step after he knew that
his presence was known he would
Idash away through the trees. so pre-
tending not to see him, / sank slowly
to the ground. Then putting my back
to the trunk of tree, / turned my
face slowly toward him. His large,
dark eyes were full upon me and his
well-shaped translucent ears moved
slightly from time to time, as though
searching the air for any sound which
might be In the nature of a warning.
There was no wind and was in full,
land the eyes were getting all the ii1for-
nation there was to be had. The
beautiful creature seemed to be salts
lfied that there was fio immediate
danger, so heelay still and gazed at me
Hong and earnestly What his thoughts
were, who shall tell?-but mine were
lall Of him.
| / knew that in less than'a month this
l1nild-eyed dweller sof the forest, now
resting so gently in his peaceful, tree
walled home, would be fleeing over the
countryside outlaw with price
upon his head. knew that every
Imam who saw those splendid antlers
would covet them, and that the Shout
lder where now great, timber muscles
lplayed beneath the skin would be the
target for score of bullets. Perchance
he would escape them all-sr1all chance
but perhaps and live to be pursued
again next year. Probably he would
hit, and, if so, / hoped that 1t might be
by marksman, with bullet through
1.-The heart or lungs, when death would
quickly come to his relief. But shud.
dered to think Of his getting away with
4