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The Burgess Animal Book for Children

T >> Thornton W. Burgess >> The Burgess Animal Book for Children



Etext created by Eve Sobol, South Bend, Indiana





THE BURGESS ANIMAL BOOK FOR CHILDREN

Thornton W. Burgess



TO THE CAUSE OF WILD LIFE IN AMERICA, ESPECIALLY THE MAMMALS MANY OF WHICH ARE
SERIOUSLY THREATENED WITH EXTINCTION, THIS BOOK IS DEDICATED.



PREFACE

The cordial reception given the Burgess Bird Book for Children,
together with numerous letters to the author asking for information
on the habits and characteristics of many of the mammals of
America, led to the preparation of this volume. It is offered
merely as an introduction to the four-footed friends, little and
big, which form so important a part of the wild life of the United
States and Canada.

There has been no attempt to describe or classify sub-species.
That is for the scientist and student with specific interests.
The purpose of this book is to acquaint the reader with the
larger groups--orders, families, and divisions of the latter,
so that typical representatives may be recognized and their
habits understood.

Instead of the word mammal, the word animal has been used
throughout as having a better defined meaning to the average
child. A conscientious effort to avoid technical terms and
descriptions has been made that there may be nothing to confuse
the young mind. Clarity and simplicity have been the objects
kept constantly in view.

At the same time the utmost care to be accurate in the smallest
details has been exercised. To this end the works of leading
authorities on American mammals have been carefully consulted
and compared. No statements which are not confirmed by two or
more naturalists of recognized standing have been made.

In this research work the writings of Audubon and Bachman, Dr. E.W.
Neson, Dr. C. Hart Merriam, Dr. W.T. Hornaday, Ernest Thompson Seton
and others, together with the bulletins of the Biological Survey of
the Department of Agriculture at Washington, have been of the
greatest value. I herewith acknowledge my debt to these.

Whatever the text may lack in clearness of description will be
amply compensated for by the wonderful drawings in color and
black-an-white by Mr. Louis Agassiz Fuertes, the artist-naturalist,
whoese hearty cooperation has been a source of great help to me.
These drawings were made especially for this book and add in no
small degree to such value as it may possess.

If the reading of these pages shall lead even a few to an active
interest in our wild animals, stimulating a desire to preserve
and protect a priceless heritage from the past which a heedless
present threatens through wanton and reckless waste to deny the
future, the labor will have been well worth while.

Only through intimate acquaintance may understanding of the animals
in their relations to each other and to man be attained. To serve
as a medium for this purpose this book has been written. As such
I offer it to the children of America, conscious of its
shortcomings yet hopeful that it will prove of some value in
acquainting them with their friends and mine--the animals of field
and wood, of mountain and desert, in the truest sense the first
citizens of America.
THORNTON W. BURGESS




CONTENTS

CHAPTER I JENNY WREN GIVES PETER RABBIT AN IDEA
Peter arranges to go to school to Old Mother Nature.

II PETER AND JUMPER GO TO SCHOOL
The Cottontail Rabbit, Northern Hare and Marsh Rabbit.

III MORE OF PETER'S LONG-LEGGED COUSINS
The Swamp Hare, Arctic Hare, Prairie Hare, Antelope
Jack and common Jack Rabbit.

IV CHATTERER AND HAPPY JACK JOIN
The Squirrel family and order of Rodents.

V THE SQUIRRELS OF THE TREES
The Red, Gray, Fox, Kaibab and Abert Squirrels.

VI STRIPED CHIPMUNK AND HIS COUSINS
The Chipmunk, Spermophiles, and Flying Squirrel.

VII JOHNNY CHUCK JOINS THE CLASS
The Woodchuck and his ways.

VIII WHISTLER AND YAP YAP
The Whistling or Hoary Marmot and Prairie Dogs.

IX TWO QUEER LITTLE HAYMAKERS
The Pika or Cony and the Mountain Beaver or Sewellel.

X PRICKLY PORKY AND GRUBBY GOPHER
Introducing the Porcupine and Pocket Gopher.

XI A FELLOW WITH A THOUSAND SPEARS
More about the Porcupine.

XII A LUMBERMAN AND ENGINEER
The Beaver and his works.

XIII A WORKER AND A ROBBER
The Muskrat and the Brown or Norway Rat.

XIV A TRADER AND A HANDSOME FELLOW
The Cotton Rat, Wood or Pack Rat and the Kangaroo Rat.

XV TWO UNLIKE LITTLE COUSINS
Whitefoot the Wood or Deer Mouse and Danny Meadow
Mouse, also called Field Mouse.

XVI DANNY'S NORTHERN COUSINS, AND NIMBLEHEELS
The Banded and Brown Lemmings and the Jumping Mouse.

XVII THREE LITTLE REDCOATS AND SOME OTHERS
The Pine Mouse, Red-backed Mouse, Rufous Tree Mouse,
Rock Mouse and Beach Mouse.

XVIII MICE WITH POCKETS, AND OTHERS
The Silky and Spiny Pocket Mice, Grasshopper Mouse,
Harvest Mouse and House Mouse.

XIX TEENY WEENY AND HIS COUSIN
The Common or Long-tailed Shrew or Shrew Mouse,
Short-tailed Shrew or Mole Shrew and Marsh or Water
Shrew.

XX FOUR BUSY LITTLE MINERS
The Common Mole, Brewer's or Hairy-tailed Mole, Oregon
Mole and Star-nosed Mole.

XXI FLITTER THE BAT AND HIS FAMILY
The Red Bat, Little Brown or Cave Bat, Big Brown or
House Bat, Silvery Bat, Hoary Bat and Big-eared Bat.

XXII AN INDEPENDENT FAMILY
The Common Skunk, Hog-nosed or Badger Skunk and Little
Spotted Skunk.

XXIII DIGGER AND HIS COUSIN GLUTTON
The Badger and Wolverine or Carcajou.

XXIV SHADOW AND HIS FAMILY
The Common or Bonaparte Weasel or Ermine, New York
Weasel, Long-tailed or Yellow-bellied Weasel, Least
Weasel and Black-footed Ferret.

XXV TWO FAMOUS SWIMMERS
Billy Mink and Little Joe Otter.

XXVI SPITE THE MARTEN AND PEKAN THE FISHER
The Pine Marten or American Sable and the Fisher or
Pennant Marten.

XXVII REDDY FOX JOINS THE SCHOOL
The Red, Black and Silver Foxes, Gray Fox, Kit Fox
Or Swift, Desert Fox, Arctic and Blue Foxes.

XXVIII OLD MAN COYOTE AND HOWLER THE WOLF
The Prairie Wolf or Coyote and the Timber or Gray Wolf.

XXIX YOWLER AND HIS COUSIN TUFTY
The Bay Lynx or Bob Cat and the Canada Lynx or Lucivee.

XXX SOME BIG AND LITTLE CAT COUSINS
Puma the Panther, also called Cougar and Mountain Lion,
The Jaguar, the Ocelot, and the Jaguarundi Cat or Eyra.

XXXI BOBBY COON ARRIVES
The Raccoon and the Civet or Ring-tailed Cat, also
Called Coon Cat and Bassaris.

XXXII BUSTER BEAR NEARLY BREAKS UP SCHOOL
The Black Bear and his habits.

XXXIII BUSTER BEAR'S BIG COUSINS
Silvertip, the Grizzly Bear, the Alaska or Great Brown
Bear and the Polar Bear.

XXXIV UNC' BILLY AND OLD MRS. POSSUM
The Virginia Opossum, which is the only American
Marsupial.

XXXV LIGHTFOOT, BLACKTAIL AND FORKHORN
The White-tailed or Virginia Deer, Black-tailed Deer
And Mule Deer.

XXXVI BUGLER, FLATHORNS AND WANDERHOOF
The Elk or Wapiti, Moose or Caribou.

XXXVII THUNDERFOOT, FLEETFOOT AND LONGCOAT
The Buffalo or Bison, Antelope or Musk-Ox.

XXXVIII TWO WONDERFUL MOUNTAIN CLIMBERS
The Rocky Mountain Sheep or Bighorn and the Rocky
Mountain Goat.

XXXIX PIGGY AND HARDSHELL
The Peccary or Wild Pig and the Armadillo.

XL THE MAMMALS OF THE SEA
The Sea Otter, Walrus, Sea Lions, Seals and Manatee
Or Sea Cow.




THE BURGESS ANIMAL BOOK FOR CHILDREN


CHAPTER I Jenny Wren Gives Peter Rabbit an Idea

"As sure as you're alive now, Peter Rabbit, some day I will catch
you," snarled Reddy Fox, as he poked his black nose in the hole
between the roots of the Big Hickory-tree which grows close to
the Smiling Pool. "It is lucky for you that you were not one jump
farther away from this hole."

Peter, safe inside that hole, didn't have a word to say, or, if he
did, he didn't have breath enough to say it. It was quite true
that if he had been one jump farther from that hole, Reddy Fox
would have caught him. As it was, the hairs on Peter's funny
white tail actually had tickled Reddy's back as Peter plunged
frantically through the root-bound entrance to that hole. It
had been the narrowest escape Peter had had for a long, long time.
You see, Reddy Fox had surprised Peter nibbling sweet clover on the
bank of the Smiling Pond, and it had been a lucky thing for Peter
that that hole, dug long ago by Johnny Chuck's grandfather, had
been right where it was. Also, it was a lucky thing that old
Mr. Chuck had been wise enough to make the entrance between
the roots of that tree in such a way that it could not be
dug any larger.

Reddy Fox was too shrewd to waste any time trying to dig it larger.
He knew there wasn't room enough for him to get between those roots.
So, after trying to make Peter as uncomfortable as possible by
telling him what he, Reddy, would do to him when he did catch him,
Reddy trotted off across the Green Meadows. Peter remained where
he was for a long time. When he was quite sure that it was safe to
do so, he crept out and hurried, lipperty-lipperty-lip, up to the
Old Orchard. He felt that that would be the safest place for him,
because there were ever so many hiding places in the old stone wall
along the edge of it.

When Peter reached the Old Orchard, who should he see but Jenny
Wren. Jenny had arrived that very morning from the Sunny South
where she had spent the winter. "Tut, tut, tut, tut, tut!"
exclaimed Jenny as soon as she saw Peter. "If here isn't Peter
Rabbit himself! How did you manage to keep out of the clutches
of Reddy Fox all the long winter?"

Peter chuckled. "I didn't have much trouble with Reddy during
the winter," said he, "but this very morning he so nearly caught
me that it is a wonder that my hair is not snow white from fright."
Then he told Jenny all about his narrow escape. "Had it not been
for that handy hole of Grandfather Chuck, I couldn't possibly
have escaped," concluded Peter.

Jenny Wren cocked her pert little head on one side, and her sharp
little eyes snapped. "Why don't you learn to swim, Peter, like
your cousin down in the Sunny South?" she demanded. "If he had
been in your place, he would simply have plunged into the Smiling
Pool and laughed at Reddy Fox."

Peter sat bolt upright with his eyes very wide open. In them was
a funny look of surprise as he stared up at Jenny Wren. "What are
you talking about, Jenny Wren?" he demanded. "Don't you know that
none of the Rabbit family swim unless it is to cross the Laughing
Brook when there is no other way of getting to the other side, or
when actually driven into the water by an enemy from whom there is
no other escape? I can swim a little if I have to, but you don't
catch me in the water when I can stay on land. What is more, you
won't find any other members of my family doing such a thing."

"Tut, tut, tut, tut, Peter!" exclaimed Jenny Wren in her sharp,
scolding voice. "Tut, tut, tut, tut! For a fellow who has been
so curious about the ways of his feathered neighbors, you know
very little about your own family. If I were in your place I
would learn about my own relatives before I became curious about
my neighbors. How many relatives have you, Peter?"

"One," replied Peter promptly, "my big cousin, Jumper the Hare."

Jenny Wren threw back her head and laughed and laughed and laughed.
It was a most irritating and provoking laugh. Finally Peter began
to lose patience. "What are you laughing at?" he demanded crossly.
"You know very well that Jumper the Hare is the only cousin I have."

Jenny Wren laughed harder that ever.

"Peter!" she gasped. "Peter, you will be the death of me. Why,
down in the Sunny South, where I spent the winter, you have a
cousin who is more closely related to you than Jumper the Hare.
And what is more, he is almost as fond of the water as Jerry
Muskrat. He was called the Marsh Rabbit or Marsh Hare, and many a
time I have watched him swimming about by the hour."

"I don't believe it!" declared Peter angrily. "I don't believe a
word of it. You are simply trying to fool me, Jenny Wren. There
never was a Rabbit and there never will be a Rabbit who would go
swimming for the fun of it. I belong to the Cottontail branch of
the Hare family, and it is a fine family if I do say so. My
cousin Jumper is a true Hare, and the only difference between us
is that he is bigger, has longer legs and ears, changes the color
of his coat in winter, and seldom, if ever, goes into holes in
the ground. The idea of trying to tell me I don't know about my
own relatives."

Jenny Wren suddenly became sober. "Peter," said she very earnestly,
"take my advice and go to school to Old Mother Nature for awhile.
What I have told you is true, every word of it. You have a cousin
down in the Sunny South who spends half his time in the water.
What is more, I suspect that you and Jumper have other relatives
of whom you've never heard. Such ignorance would be laughable if
it were not to be pitied. This is what comes of never having
traveled. Go to school to Old Mother Nature for a while, Peter.
It will pay you." With this, Jenny Wren flew away to hunt for
Mr. Wren that they might decide where to make their home for
the summer.

Peter tried to believe that what Jenny Wren had told him was nothing
but a story, but do what he would, he couldn't rid himself of a
little doubt. He tried to interest himself in the affairs of the
other little people of Old Orchard, but it was useless. That little
doubt kept growing and growing. Could it be possible that Jenny
Wren had spoken the truth? Could it be that he really didn't
know what relatives he had or anything about them? Of course Old
Mother Nature could tell him all he wanted to know. And he knew
that whatever she might tell him would be true.

Finally that growing doubt, together with the curiosity which has
led poor Peter to do so many queer things, proved too much for him
and he started for the Green Forest to look for Old Mother Nature.
It didn't take long to find her. She was very busy, for there is
no time in all the year when Old Mother Nature has quite so much
to do as in the spring.

"If you please, Old Mother Nature," said Peter timidly but very
politely, "I've some questions I want to ask you."

Old Mother Nature's eyes twinkled in a kindly way. "All right,
Peter," she replied. "I guess I can talk and work at the same
time. What is it you want to know?"

"I want to know if it is true that there are any other members of
the Rabbit and the Hare family besides my big cousin, Jumper, who
lives here in the Green Forest, and myself."

Old Mother Nature's eyes twinkled more than ever. "Why, of course,
Peter," she replied. "There are several other members. You ought
to know that. But then, I suppose you don't because you never
have traveled. It is surprising how little some folks know about
the very things they ought to know most about."

Peter looked very humble and as if he felt a little bit foolish.
"Is--is--is it true that way down in the Sunny South I have a
cousin who loves to spend his time in the water?" stammered Peter.

"It certainly is, Peter," replied Old Mother Nature. "He is called
the Marsh Rabbit, and he is more nearly your size, and looks more
like you, than any of your other cousins."

Peter gulped as if he were swallowing something that went down
hard. "That is what Jenny Wren said, but I didn't believe her,"
replied Peter meekly. "She said she had often watched him
swimming about like Jerry Muskrat."

Old Mother Nature nodded. "Quite true. Quite true," said she.
"He is quite as much at home in the water as on land, if anything
a little more so. He is one member the family who takes to the
water, and he certainly does love it. Is there anything else you
want to know, Peter?"

Peter shifted about uneasily and hesitated. "What is it, Peter?"
asked Old Mother Nature kindly. "There is nothing in the Great
World equal to knowledge, and if I can add to your store of it I
will be very glad to."

Peter took heart. "If--if you please, Mother Nature, I would like
to learn all about my family. May come to school to you every day?"

Old Mother Nature laughed right out. "Certainly you may go to
school to me, old Mr. Curiosity," said she. "It is a good idea;
a very good idea. I'm very busy, as you can see, but I'm never
too busy to teach those who really want to learn. We'll have a
lesson here every morning just at sun-up. I can't be bothered
any more to-day, because it is late. Run along home to the dear
Old Briar-patch and think up some questions to ask me to-morrow
morning. And, by the way, Peter, I will ask YOU some questions.
For one thing I shall ask you to tell me all you know about your
own family. Now scamper along and be here to-morrow morning
at sun-up."

"May I bring my cousin, Jumper the Hare, if he wants to come?"
asked Peter, as he prepared to obey Old Mother Nature.

"Bring him along and any one else who wants to learn," replied Old
Mother Nature kindly.

Peter bade her good-by in his most polite manner and then scampered
as fast as he could go, lipperty-lipperty-lip, to the dear Old
Briar-patch. There he spent the remainder of the day thinking up
questions and also trying to find out how much he really did know
about his own family.



CHAPTER II Peter and Jumper go to School

Hardly had jolly, round, red Mr. Sun thrown off his rosy blankets
and begun his daily climb up in the blue, blue sky when Peter
Rabbit and his cousin, Jumper the Hare, arrived at the place in
the Green Forest where Peter had found Old Mother Nature the day
before. She was waiting for them, ready to begin the first lesson.

"I am glad you are so prompt," said she. "Promptness is one of
the most important things in life. Now I am very, very busy these
days, as you know, so we will begin school at once. Before either
of you ask any questions, I am going to ask some myself. Peter,
what do you look like? Where do you live? What do you eat? I
want to find out just how much you really know about yourself."

Peter scratched one ear with a long hind foot and hesitated as
if he didn't know just how to begin. Old Mother Nature waited
patiently. Finally Peter began rather timidly.

"Of course," said he, "the only way I know how I look is by the
way the other members of my family look, for I've never seen
myself. I suppose in a way I look like all the rest of the Rabbit
family. I have long hind legs and short front ones. I suppose
this is so I can make long jumps when I am in a hurry."

Old Mother Nature nodded, and Peter, taking courage, continued. "My
hind legs are stout and strong, but my front ones are rather weak.
I guess this is because I do not have a great deal of use for them,
except for running. My coat is a sort of mixture of brown and gray,
more brown in summer and more gray in winter. My ears are longer for
my size than are those of most animals, but really not very long after
all, not nearly as long for my size as my cousin Jumper's are for his
size. My tail doesn't amount to much because it is so short that it
is hardly worth calling a tail. It is so short I carry it straight
up. It is white like a little bunch of cotton, and I suppose that
that is why I am called a Cottontail Rabbit, though I have heard that
some folks call me a Gray Rabbit and others a Bush Rabbit. I guess
I'm called Bush Rabbit because I like bushy country in which to live."

"I live in the dear Old Briar-patch and just love it. It is a
mass of bushes and bramble-tangles and is the safest place I know
of. I have cut little paths all through it just big enough for
Mrs. Peter and myself. None of our enemies can get at us there,
excepting Shadow the Weasel or Billy Mink. I have a sort of nest
there where I spend my time when I am not running about. It is
called a form and I sit in it a great deal."

"In summer I eat clover, grass and other green things, and I just
love to get over into Farmer Brown's garden. In winter I have to
take what I can get, and this is mostly bark from young trees,
buds and tender twigs of bushes, and any green plants I can find
under the snow. I can run fast for a short distance, but only for
a short distance. That is why I like thick brush and bramble-
tangles. There I can dodge. I don't know any one who can beat me
at dodging. If Reddy Fox or Bowser the Hound surprises me away
from the dear Old Briar-patch I run for the nearest hollow log or
hole in the ground. Sometimes in summer I dig a hole for myself,
but not often. It is much easier to use a hole somebody else has
dug. When I want to signal my friends I thump the ground with my
hind feet. Jumper does the same thing. I forgot to say I don't
like water."

Old Mother Nature smiled. "You are thinking of that cousin of
yours, the Marsh Rabbit who lives way down in the Sunny South,"
said she.

Peter looked a wee bit foolish and admitted that he was. Jumper
the Hare was all interest at once. You see, he had never heard
of this cousin.

"That was a very good account of yourself, Peter," said Old Mother
Nature. "Now take a look at your cousin, Jumper the Hare, and
tell me how he differs from you."

Peter took a long look at Jumper, and then, as before, scratched
one ear with a long hind foot. "In the first place," said he,
"Jumper is considerably bigger than I. He has very long hind legs
and his ears are very long. In summer he wears a brown coat, but
in winter he is all white but the tips of those long ears, and
those are black. Because his coat changes so, he is called the
varying Hare. He likes the Green Forest where the trees grow
close together, especially those places where there are a great
many young trees. He's the biggest member of our family. I
guess that's all I know about Cousin Jumper."

"That is very good, Peter, as far as it goes," said Old Mother
Nature. "You have made only one mistake. Jumper is not the
biggest of his family."

Both Peter and Jumper opened their eyes very wide with surprise.
"Also," continued Old Mother Nature, "you forgot to mention the
fact that Jumper never hides in hollow logs and holes in the
ground as you do. Why don't you, Jumper?"

"I wouldn't feel safe there," replied Jumper rather timidly. "I
depend on my long legs for safety, and the way I can dodge around
trees and bushes. I suppose Reddy Fox may be fast enough to catch
me in the open, but he can't do it where I can dodge around trees
and bushes. That is why I stick to the Green Forest. If you please,
Mother Nature, what is this about a cousin who likes to swim?"

Old Mother Nature's eyes twinkled. "We'll get to that later on,"
said she. "Now, each of you hold up a hind foot and tell me what
difference you see."

Peter and Jumper each held up a hind foot and each looked first at
his own and then at the other's. "They look to me very much
alike, only Jumper's is a lot longer and bigger than mine," said
Peter. Jumper nodded as if he agreed.

"What's the matter with your eyes?" demanded Old Mother Nature.
"Don't you see that Jumper's foot is a great deal broader than
yours, Peter, and that his toes are spread apart, while yours are
close together?"

Peter and Jumper looked sheepish, for it was just as Old Mother
Nature had said. Jumper's foot really was quite different from
that of Peter. Peter's was narrow and slim.

"That is a very important difference," declared Old Mother Nature.
"Can you guess why I gave you those big feet, Jumper?"

Jumper slowly shook his head. "Not unless it was to make me
different," said he.

"I'm surprised," said Old Mother Nature. "Yes, indeed, I'm
surprised. You ought to know by this time that I never give
anybody anything without a purpose. What happens to those big
feet of yours in the winter, Jumper?"

"Nothing that I know of, excepting that the hair grows out long
between my toes," Jumper replied.

"Exactly," snapped Old Mother Nature. "And when the hair does this
you can travel over light snow without sinking in. It is just as
if you had snowshoes. That is why you are often called a Snowshoe
Rabbit. I gave you those big feet and make the hair grow out every
winter because I know that you depend on your legs to get away from
your enemies. You can run over the deep snow where your enemies
break through. Peter, though he is small and lighter than you are,
cannot go where you can. But Peter doesn't need to depend always
on his legs to save his life. There is one thing more that I want
you both to notice, and that is that you both have quite a lot of
short hairs on the soles of you feet. That is where you differ
from that cousin of yours down in the Sunny South. He has only
a very few hairs on his feet. That is so he can swim better."

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