Chapter I: Front Matter

_BANNERTAIL_

_THE STORY OF A GRAYSQUIRREL_

BANNERTAIL

THE STORY OF A GRAYSQUIRREL

With 100 Drawings by Ernest Thompson Seton

Author of

Wild Animals I have Known
Trail of the Sandhill Stag
Biography of a Grizzly
Lives of the Hunted
Monarch The Big Bear

New York
Charles Scribner's Sons
1922

Copyright, 1922, by
ERNEST THOMPSON SETON

Printed in the United States of America

_FOREWORD_

_These are the ideas that I have aimed to set forth in this tale._

_1st. That although an animal is much helped by its mother's teaching, it owes still more to the racial teaching, which is instinct, and can make a success of life without its mothers guidance, if only it can live through the dangerous time of infancy and early life._

_2d. Animals often are tempted into immorality--by which I mean, any habit or practice that would in its final working, tend to destroy the race. Nature has rigorous ways of dealing with such._

_3d. Animals, like ourselves, must maintain ceaseless war against insect parasites--or perish._

_4th. In the nut forests of America, practically every tree was planted by the Graysquirrel, or its kin. No squirrels, no nut-trees._

_These are the motive thoughts behind my woodland novel. I hope I have presented them convincingly; if not, I hope at least you have been entertained by the romance._

CONTENTS

Chapter Page
I. The Foundling 1
II. His Kittenhood 9
III. The Red Horror 15
IV. The New and Lonely Life 19
V. The Fluffing of His Tail 25
VI. The First Nut Crop 31
VII. The Sun Song of Bannertail 39
VIII. The Cold Sleep 49
IX. The Balking of Fire-eyes 57
X. Redsquirrel, the Scold of the Woods 65
XI. Bannertail and the Echo Voice 71
XII. The Courting of Silvergray 77
XIII. The Home in the High Hickory 85
XIV. New Rivals 91
XV. Bachelor Life Again 97
XVI. The Warden Meets an Invader 103
XVII. The Hoodoo on the Home 109
XVIII. The New Home 117
XIX. The Moving of the Young 125
XX. The Coming-out Party 135
XXI. Nursery Days of the Young Ones 141
XXII. Cray Hunts for Trouble 147
XXIII. The Little Squirrels Go to School 151
XXIV. The Lopping of the Wayward Branch 157
XXV. Bannertail Falls into a Snare 163
XXVI. The Addict 173
XXVII. The Dregs of the Cup 181
XXVIII. The Way of Destruction 185
XXIX. Mother Carey's Lash 191
XXX. His Awakening 199
XXXI. The Unwritten Law 205
XXXII. Squirrel Games 213
XXXIII. When Bannertail Was Scarred for Life 221
XXXIV. The Fight with the Black Demon 229
XXXV. The Property Law among Animals 243
XXXVI. Gathering the Great Nut Harvest 251
XXXVII. And To-day 261

ILLUSTRATIONS

Facing Page
His kittenhood 12
Baffling Fire-eyes 60
They twiddled whiskers good night 82
With an angry "Quare!" Silvergray scrambled up again 130
The little squirrels at school 154
Cray sank--a victim to his folly 160
A dangerous game 226
The battle with the Blacksnake 238

_THE FOUNDLING_