Are there many squirrels in this part of Canada?"
"Not so many as in Upper Canada, Lady Mary. They abound more in some years
than in others. I have seen the beech and oak woods swarming with black
squirrels. My brothers have brought in two or three dozen in one day. The
Indians used to tell us that want of food, or very severe weather setting
in in the north, drive these little animals from their haunts. The
Indians, who observe these things more than we do, can generally tell what
sort of winter it will be, from the number of wild animals in the fall."
"What do you mean by the fall, nurse?"
"The autumn in Canada, my lady, is called so from the fall of the leaves.
I remember one year was remarkable for the great number of black, gray,
and flying squirrels; the little striped chitmunk was also plentiful, and
so were weasels and foxes. They came into the barns and granaries, and
into the houses, and destroyed great quantities of grain; besides gnawing
clothes that were laid out to dry; this they did to line their nests with.
Next year there were very few to be seen."
"What became of them, nurse?"
"Some, no doubt, fell a prey to their enemies, the cats, foxes, and
weasels, which were also very numerous that year; and the rest, perhaps,
went back to their own country again.
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