East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current, 1908-07-29
REVER|ES FROM
THE CAMPFIRE
MOUNTAIN STUDIES
ARE FASCINATING.
Simple Subjects of Which But Few
People Know Anything Have En-
trancing Interest-Study Of Noun
tain Animals and TrailS-The Pine
Squirrels and the Gasoline Engine
Nature ut Close View.
Kamela, July 80, 1908:

ter the handsomest person In the cir
Gle about the fire? This is a maxim
of camp life, and no mature fakir"
has ever attempted to either deny or
explain it.
But this "old saying of the from
tiersmen reminds me that camp in
the mountains is one Of the best
schools of nature man or woman eVee
attended. The mountains are over
flowing with information, knowledge,
wisdom and learning.
Every time you turn around you
learn something new, If you are a
close observer. Every noise, every
tree, every rock, every crooked trail,
every movement of the forest, is a
revelation.
Far from being lonely and quiet,
the mountains are filled with life and
animation. Open your eyes any where
and you see a miracle. The chipmunk
which frisks about your grub box is
study. Do you know its habits,
how 1t subsists, to what family 1t be-
longs, how many young 1t raises, and
how often, how 1t spends the long
winters, to what age 1t lwesT
In this insignificant study not one
man in fifty is proficient. We are
Inundated at the extent OF our ig-
norance. We do not know the an
swer to the first question about the
chipmunk.
And the blue jay, the clown and
jester of the forest. do you know any,
thing of his lineage. his family, his
his habits, his life? How many eggs
does the blue jay lay and in what
kind Of a nest? What countries does
he inhabit; how long does he live?
Who has not listened in delight to
the great musician of the mountains,
the snare drummer OF the forest or
chestra. the meek and retiring wood
pecker? And yet Of this musicians
parentage. habits, vices or virtues, the
ordinary self educated statesman and
politician knows so little that 1t is
not worth mentioning.
To my mind the forest trails are
one Of the most delightful studies Of
the mountains. What animal first
made tracks along the route Of the
now well-worn trails? BY what al
most divine guidance did the beasts
of the forests make their trails
through dense timber, on almost d.
rect lines to the nearest watering
place?
What intensity OF instinct, what
matchless prescience Of intention
guided these dumb, unthinking crea-
lures through binding thickets d.
| rectly to the only water in the entire
section OF the mountains? 1t is a fas-
cinating study. worthy Of the thought
and consideration Of every genuine
thinking man and worshiper of the
great God of Nature.
This morning as l lay in bed look
ing up through the tangled and in
terlocked limbs of the great trees
overhead, two pine squirrels, a male
and a female, came out on limb 20
feet above me and began gossiping
and tearing up pine cone for its
kernels.
The sleek male watched me intent
ly, while chattering low to his mate
and tearing away the husk of the
cone. could see his keen black eyes
filled with intelligence. industry Wig
or and defianse. They were so much
man that 1 was startled at the sim
ilarity. And yet worlds Of meaning
lay between the man and the squirrel.
moved one finger, slightly, and
the chattering stopped. The alert
eyes of that watchful fellow were
riveted upon the hand that attracted
his attention and I could see a gleam
Of wonder behind the furry of alarm
in his eyes.
To me the five minutes observation
of this beautiful fellow. at close range,
was a genuine delight So like the
human and yet so unlike them Is this
ogile sprite, that the study is a mar
vel
The pump man told me that he
had been greatly amused by the pine
equirrels while they were becoming
familiar with the barking of the
gasoline engine used to pump water
at mountain station.
When the engine was first started
all the squirrels in the vicinity ran
away chattering In alarm into the
depths of the thieket, and for days
none ventured out to eat the crumbs
remaining from his lunch, as usual.
Finally, one big, brave fellow crept
out on a near by stump and listened
for fully an hour to the sound of
the engine. Next day the same fell
low, evidently the biggest and brav-
est of the entire colony, came some
what nearer and listened. giving a
reassurlng signal to his friends.
This was the first sound he had
made in the hearing Of the pump man
since the engine was started, and
within Is minutes after he chartered
to the colony Of at least 20 squirrels
were to be seen coming shyly toward
the water tank, where they were ac-
customed to play for hours at a time,
and within a few hours the entire
colony was frisklng in their old
haunts as Of yore, wholly unmindful
Of the engine.
Evidently that old scout had investi-
gated 1t thoroughly and had assured
the colony that 1t was all right.
Bert Huffman.