Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1904-01-25
A JANU AIRY WALK
A Tramp Through Snow
Covered Woods.
ANIMAL FOOD HUNTS.
HOW TINY BEASTS AND OTHERS
HAVE TO SEARCH.
IF Comfortably Dressed an Inquisitive
Journey to Watch is Good
Experience.

thaw / started for a tramp through the
snow-covered woods. The thermometer
stood at ten below zero, but as the snow
was twenty inches on the level the exertfon
of getting through it made me glowing
warm before had gone half a mile, and
when occasionally got cut Of the wind the
air seemed almost springlike.
Whether we enjey winteg or dislike 1t de-
ponds largely On whether we are prepared
for it or not Cold weather has no terrors
for us If we know that we aresnot going to
be cold in it. and half the nuisance Of snow
Is gone If we are sure that we can go where
we like without getting our feet or clothing
wet. 1 am speaking now for those OF us
who mind getting their feet wet; some OF
us don't. In other words, with warm
clothing and pair of rubber boots, or
snow shoes if the snow is deep enough.
there is nothing to prevent any healthy
person from enjoying himself in the worst
weather the winter can turn out. FOR d
winter walk in the country an overcoat 10
mistake; it trails in the snow and con-
tinually gets in the way. What one re,
quires is some form of clothing which WIN
permit perfect freedom of movement. with
such clothing one can afford to dress iight-
ly, for every cross-country athlete
knows, man can keep himself warm IN
zero weather with practically no clothing
at all if he is allowed to keep moving at his
best pace.
A pair of gloves however, will go long
way toward making one enjoy walk on
bitterly cold day Not kid gloves, but a
good big pair, which allow for generous
air space around your hands inside, ana
with gauntlets which come over the cuffs
of your coat and keep out not only the
wind but the snow. And If you are gong
along alone in bad weather 1t is wise pre-
caution to tell your friends which direction
you intend to take and the length of time
you expect to be gone When the snow is
deep and the air intensely cold spralned
knee or broken leg may mean death If as
sistance does not arrive in time. l know a.
man who broke his leg in a blizzard, and
by almost superhuman grit dragged him
self home for more than a mile on ms
hands and knees. He saved his life, but his
they had to be amputated. But to return
to my own walk.
What the Holes Mean.
had not gone far into the woods when,
in passing low-gro~ing wild apple tree, l
noticed that the surface of the snow be-
Meath 1t had been disturbed in an irregular
manner 1t was furrowed, and here and
there were holes leading into little run
ways which extended downward as far as
I could see. The holes were much too large
to have been made by meadow mouse anu
quite too small for muskrat, and DOUBT
if | should have discovered what amman
had made them if the impudent head of
red squirrel had not appeared suddenly al
one of the holes. He had look of aston
ishment ON his face and small apple IN
his mouth. He dropped the latter on the
snow in front of him, but retained the Tor
mer for about five seconds, or until, with
frightened squeal he darted to the inVlsl-
BILE regions below. The little apple, iylng
upon the snow told a pathetic story OF the
little fellows hunger and of his enorts 10
satisfy it. and l wondered If he had any
sense keen enough to tell him where eacn
individual apple lay, or 'whe ther he tunneleo
bIindly, with the hope of finding one occa-
sionally
Twigs to Eat.
Further ON 1 came to a stretch of half
omen country, covered with barberry and
other bushes And here found the paths
which the rabbits had made the night be-
fore. and all along these paths the twigs
of the bushes under which they ran had
been cut off clean. as though with pen
knife by the sharp front teeth of the RAD
bits And thus the snow, which had done
the animals an injury in one way. by COW
ering up their food upon the ground. served
them well in another way. by lifting them
to height at which they could crop the
tender twigs nearer the tops of the bushes
The grouse, too, had made use OF the deep
snow as a platform from which to pick the
barberries. In spite of their natural snow
shoes the birds had sunk quite deep in
many places. and their trail was little more
than a gutter. And as / passed one OF the
bushes I saw an old birds nest which had
been rooted by white-footed mouse, and
as touched twig the tenant put his head
out of the door to see what the matter was.
But / stood very still, and presently he
went in again, perhaps to curl up and go to
sleep until the fall of night should make 1t
comparatively safe for him to go out in
search of food and to leave his iace-like
trail on the surface of the moonlit snow.
A Meal Station.
But the most delightful incident Of my
walk occurred when / was nearing home.
A flock of hungry chickadeeS flew into
maple tree above me. perhaps knowing
that / had something to do with the many
square meals they have enjoyed this win
ter. One of them hoped to a branch close
above my head. and felt in my pocket for
some broken nuts. Taking off my glove I
extended the hand containing the Offering
and 1 had his earnest attention in mo-
ment Down he came close to me, crying
'Dee-dee-dee," and peering into my face
with his beady black eyes, as much as to
say, rs it all right? .onfe now, Is it?'
Bat without waiting for reply he flew
upon my finger. calmly picked up piece of
nut and flew back into the maple tree
With my finger delightfully."- tingling from
that delicate grasp l went home feeling al
though / had shaken hands with fairy.
ERNEST HAROLD BAYNES