by Mayne Reid
CHAPTER NINETEEN.
THE SAGACIOUS SQUIRREL.
"While we thus stood watching the movements of our beavers, andconversing about the habits of these interesting animals, an incidentoccurred which very much amused us, and proved that the beavers were notthe only animals whom Nature had gifted with extraordinary sagacity.
"Near the middle of the lake stood a clump of tall trees--their trunksimmersed for two or three feet under the water. These trees had beenupon the bank of the rivulet, previous to the formation of the dam; andthey were now surrounded on all sides, forming a kind of timber islet.It was evident, however, that they were destined to decay, as they weretrees of the poplar species, and such as could not live with their rootscovered with water.
"Among the tops of these trees we observed several small animals leapingnimbly about from branch to branch and from one tree to the other. Theywere squirrels. They seemed to be labouring under some unusualexcitement--as though they had been alarmed by the presence of an enemy.But there did not appear to be any such enemy near them. We noticedthat they passed from tree to tree, running down the trunks of each, asfar as the water would allow them; and then, after looking outward, asif they intended to leap into the lake, they would suddenly turn backagain, and gallop up into the high branches. There were in all about adozen of them; but the nimbleness with which they passed from place toplace, would have led one to believe that there were ten times thatnumber; and the twigs and leaves were constantly kept in motion, asthough a large flock of birds were fluttering through them.
"We had noticed these animals before, from time to time, dashing aboutin the same clump of trees; but not thinking it anything unusual, hadpaid no attention to their movements. Now, however, it occurred to usthat these little creatures--who never take to the water unlesscompelled by absolute necessity--had been suddenly cut off from theirusual range by the forming of the dam, and were held where they were ina state of captivity. This was the more evident, as the trees had beenstripped of many of their leaves, and the bark was peeled from the moretender twigs and branches. It was plain that the squirrels had beenliving for some time upon short allowance, and were anxious to get offfrom the place.
"We now saw what was causing the unusual commotion among them at thatparticular time. Near the clump of trees, but higher up the lake, asmall log was floating in the water. It had somehow got into the streamabove, and was being borne down by the current. It was at this momentnearing the little island of timber upon which were the squirrels; butit came on very slowly, as the current through the lake was hardlyperceptible. It was this log that was causing such a flurry; and theanimals evidently intended--should it come near enough--to use it as araft.
"We seated ourselves to watch their manoeuvres. On came the log slowlyand gradually; but, instead of drifting directly for the timber, it wasborne by the current in a direction that would carry it at least twentyyards from the trees. The squirrels had gathered upon that side; andnow, instead of running up and down the trunks, as before, they allstood upon the topmost branches apparently watching the motions of thelog.
"`Poor little creatures!' said Mary, `they will be unable to reach it,after all. What a pity!'
"Just as she made this reflection, the log floated forward to the pointwhere it was likely to be nearest to the clump in passing. A longbranch stretched out in that direction; but, as we calculated, thedriftwood was not likely to pass nearer than twenty yards. On thisbranch, however, the squirrels had now gathered, one behind the other ina long string, and we could see the foremost of them straining himselfas if to spring.
"`Surely, they do not intend,--surely, they cannot leap so far!' saidMary, as we all stood holding our breath, and watching them with intensecuriosity.
"`Yes, Missa,' replied Cudjo; `de do intend. Gosh! de leap him, too.Dis nigga see 'em in Vaginny leap far furrer. Looky now! Yonder dego--wap!'
"As Cudjo spoke, the foremost squirrel launched out into the air, andthe next moment pounced down upon the log. Then another followed, andanother, and another, looking like so many birds flying through the airin a string, until the log was covered with the little creatures, andfloated off with its cargo!
"We supposed that they had all succeeded in getting off, but in this wewere mistaken. On looking up to the trees again, we saw that there wasstill one remaining. He appeared not to have got out upon theprojecting branch in time,--for the weight of each of those thatpreceded him, coming down upon the log had pushed it so far off, that hebecame, no doubt, afraid to venture taking such a long leap. He was nowrunning to and fro, apparently in a frantic state--both on account ofhis inability to escape, and his being thus left alone. For some timehe kept springing from tree to tree, running down the trunks of all tothe very edge of the water, and stopping now and again to lookhopelessly after his companions.
"At length, we saw him descend a tree, whose bark was exceedinglyrough--in fact, crisped outward in great broad pieces, or scales of afoot long, and several inches broad, that looked as though they wereabout to fall from the tree. For this reason, the tree is known amongbackwoodsmen as the `scaly bark.' Having descended this tree, nearly tothe point where it rose above the water, the squirrel was seen to stop;and for a moment we lost sight of him, where he was hidden behind one ofthe broad pieces of bark. We thought he had taken shelter there,intending to rest himself. Presently, however, we saw the bark movingbackwards and forwards; and from what we could see of the little animal,it was evident he was trying with all his might to detach it from thetree. Occasionally he ran out from the crevice--scratched the barkoutside with teeth and claws--and then hurriedly disappeared again.
"These strange manoeuvres were kept up for several minutes, while we allremained upon the shore, watching with curiosity for the result.
"At length, we saw the piece of bark move rapidly outward from thetrunk, and hang down suspended only by a few fibres. These were soongnawed by the teeth of the squirrel, and the broad scale fell into thewater. It had hardly touched the surface, when the animal ran nimblydown, and leaped upon it! There was no current at the spot where thebark fell into the water; and we were in doubt whether it would carryhim out from among the trees; but we were soon convinced that oursquirrel knew what he was about. As soon as he had fairly balancedhimself upon his tiny craft, he hoisted his broad bushy tail high up inthe air, by way of a sail; and, the next moment, we saw that the breezecatching upon it wafted the little mariner slowly, but surely, outward!In a few seconds he had cleared the trees; and the wind soon brought himwithin the influence of the current, which caused his bark to floatdownward after his companions.
"These had well-nigh reached the breastwork of the dam; and Harry wishedvery much to intercept them as they got to land. This wish, however,was overruled by his mother, who very justly declared that the littlecreatures deserved to escape, after having so well amused us by theiringenuity.
"In a short time, they all leaped ashore, and went scampering off amongthe trees in search of a dinner--for by this time, no doubt, they weresufficiently hungry."
