The daily morning journal and courier., 1904-01-23
A JANUARY WALK.


 A few days before the recent Janu-
 ary thaw. I started for tramp through the snow-covered woods. The thermometer stood at 10 below zero. but,
 as the snow was twenty inches deep on the level, the exertion of getting
 through i. made me glowing warm be- l fore had gone half a mile, and when i occasionally I got out of the wind, the air seemed almost springlfke.
 Whether we enjoy winter or dislike it. depends largely on whether we are pre- pared for 1t or not. Cold weather has l no terrors for us if we know we are not going to be cold in 1t, and half the nuisance of snow is gone if we are sure 1 that we can go where we like without getting our feet or clothing wet am speaking for those of us who mind get ting 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 noth- l ing to prevent any healthy person from enjoying himself in the worst weather the winter can turn out For winter 1 walk in the country, an overcoat is a mistake; it trails in the snow, and con- 1 tinually gets in the way. What one requires is some form of clothing which will permit perfect freedom of move ment. With such clothing, one can afford to dress lightly, for as every | cross-country athlete knows. a 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 a long way toward making one enjoy a walk on bitterly cold day. Not kid gloves, but a good big pair, which al- low for a generous air space around your hands inside, and with galintlets which come over the cuffs of your coat, and keep out not only the wind but the snow. And if you are going along in bad weather, 1t is wise precaution to tell your friends which direction you in- tend to take, and the length of time you
 expect to be gone. When the snow is deep and the air is intensely cold. a
 sprained knee or broken leg may mean death, if assistance does not ar rive in time. I know a man who broke his leg in a blizzard, and by almost superhuman grit, dragged himself home for more than mile oil his hands and
 knees. He saved his life, but his hands and feet were so badly frozen that they had to be amputated But to return to my own walk.
 I had not gone far into the woods, when, in passing a low-growing wild apple tree. I noticed that the surface of the snow beneath it had been dis turbed in an irregular manner. It was furrowed. and here and there were holes, leading into little runways, which extended downward as far as I could see. The holes were much to large to have been made by a shadow mouse, and quite too small for muskrat, and I should have discovered what animal had made them, if the impudent head of red squirrel had not appeared sud- enly at one of the holes. He had a look of astonishment on his face, and small apple ill his mouth. He dropped the latter on the snow in front of him but retained the former for about five seconds, or until, with frightened soueal. he darted 10 the invisible re- gions below. The little apple, lying upon the snow, told a. pathetic story of the little fellows hunger, and of his eff forts to satisfy 1t, and wondered if he
 had any sense keen enough to tell him
 where each individual apple lay, or
 whether he tunnelled blindly, with the
 hope of finding one occasionally.
 Further on l came to a stretch of half-open country, covered with barber
 " and other bushes And here I found
 the paths which the rabbits had made
 the night before, and all long these
 paths the twigs Of the bushes under
 which they ran had been cut off clean,
 as though with a penknife, by the
 sharp front teeth of the rabbits And
 thus the snow, which had done the anil
 nals an injury in one way, by covering
 up their food upon the ground, served
 them well in another way, by lifting
 them 10 height at which they could
 crop the tender twiss nearer the tops
 Of the bushes.
 The grouse, too, had made use of the
 deep snow as 3 platform, from which
 to pick the barberries. Tn spite of
 their natural snow-shoes, the birds had
 sunk quite deep in many places, and
 been rooted by a white footed mouse,
 and as I touched a twig, the tenant put
 his head out of the door too see what
 the matter was. But stood very still,
 and presently he went in again. per-
 haps to curl uo and go to sleeo until the fall of night should make it com-
 paratively safe for him to go out in search of food and to leave his lace like trail in the surface of the moonlit snow
 But the most delightful incident of my walk occurred when was nearing home. A flock of hungry chickadees