The Washington herald., 1907-11-12
In re the Chipmunk.

Those not inclined 20 careful and ana
lytical thinking may be tempted 10 con-
clude that Mr.. Theodore Roosevelt, the
author. made a mistake when he as
serted recently In his magazine article,
Small Country Neighbors." that the
chipmunk ''hibernates."
In support of this conclusion. at least.
comes Mr.. John Randolph-and the name
is imposing enough-in Harper's Weekly,
who deposes and says:
Neither President Roosevelt nor any one else
ever found a clIiDmunk alternating. I shame me
Of the part ] played in proving the chipmunk docs
not hibernate, for. boy. / routed many a one
out Of its nest to the store II nuts especially
beechnuts, it had laid MP for its winters food No
| alternating animal lays up a store Of food The
alternating animal becomes dormant and does not
need food In its torpid state it does not eat As
winter comes on they sink into a deep sleep in
which nourishment is UNNECESSARY.
"Hornaday who has forgotten more about the
animals Of North America than all the nature
takers put together ever knew, says oF the chin
munk: IT does not become dormant; il comes out
/ in the winter and enjoys the light and warmth &,
I have seen this to be true more than 100 times
and the fact Is well known to all observing boys
and men who live where the chipmunk is eomnaon
| This misstatement made by Mr.. Roosevelt would
not be noticed had he not been 50 free ard 50
| brutal in deuouncng similar misstatements when
made by others"
| On the surface, perhaps. this looks
! decisive. Offhand, and in the absence of
| further evidence. a jury. untrammeled
and unawed. would, doubtless. render a
verdict for the prosecution. To our way
] Of thinking. however. the two seemingly
| contradictory chipmunk theories may be
easily explained, and still leave each un-
| disturbed as to accuracy. The Washing
ton Herald is inclined to believe. with
| Blackstone. that the king can do or sav
no wrung-even though we lack Black
stones ingenuity in divesting the dogma
of its divine attributes We can see
/ readily how Mr. Roosevelt may be right.
likewise Messrs- Randolph and Horna-
day-to say nothing of the unfortunate
Or. Long.
Once upon time-as all well-regulated
fairy stories and other nature fakes be-
! gin-the nurse of the present King of
/ Spain. then a boy of ten, reproved him
for speaking rudely to one of his play
mates His majesty was implacable, how
ever, and would not apologize. Finally.
HIS nurse, in desperation, and hoping to
shame him with the great dignity OF
his standing and the utter helplessness
| of his playmate to answer his harsh
words, said: Sire, kings do not talk to
| their companions in that manner. -
well" replied the youthful Alfonso.
this King does
We judge, after considering this mat
ter. that Mr.. Roosevelt's chipmunks
hibernate, regardless Of the habits and
customs of the chipmunks observed by
Messrs Randolph and Hornaday. To
say, as Mr.. Randolph does. Neither the
President nor any one else ever found a
chipmunk hibernating' is far too sweep
ing Mr.. Randolph has no way of know
ing what wonderful things the President
has seen in his travels, investigations
and hunting expeditions. Indeed, It IS
our opinion that such thing as chip
munk alternating just TO accommodate