1903 Correspondence 89 



Attacked by a Sto.it. — " I was recently the victim of an encounter 

 which I confess I should hardly have credited if it had been related to 

 me. It was as follows: About 4 p.m. on September 13, 1902, I was 

 sitting at the table in a front room of my house, which stands in its 

 own grounds and is close to a wood. I felt something crawling up my 

 right leg, Naturally I looked to see what it was, and, to my surprise, 

 saw the head of a Stoat on my knee, and the animal in the act of making 

 a spring towards my throat. I knocked it off at once and killed it with 

 the help of an Irish terrier which was in the room. I was quite alone, 

 but at once called my son, who came and cleaned up the blood. I had 

 the Stoat skinned, and its skin now hangs on the wall, measuring 18 

 inches in length. If you think the incident worth mentioning in the 

 F. N. Q., by all means do so. I have mentioned the affair to game- 

 keepers and others who have lived all their lives in this country district, 

 where Stoats are common, and none of them ever heard of such a case." 

 — Wm, FREEMAN, Grosmont, near Hereford. 



(Our correspondent will be interested in Mr Cumming's letter below. 

 —Ed. F. N. Q.) 



Attacked by a Weasel. — " One summer evening, accompanied by my 

 son, I was returning home after having spent a pleasant hour in angling 

 in the Don, Aberdeenshire. Walking along through the grass of a 

 field near the river, I was suddenly startled by a loud squeaking noise 

 at my feet. Looking down I saw that the noise came from a Weasel, 

 which had seized the boy's trousers a little above the ankle, and was 

 hanging on like 'grim death.' I told him to strike it with the butt-end 

 of the rod, which he happened to be carrying, and he at once did so, 

 rendering the Weasel insensible. I then seized the boy's cap, and 

 putting it over the animal, secured it, took it home, and killed it. Have 

 any of your readers ever been attacked in a similar fashion ? I have 

 heard that Weasels are sometimes very ferocious if they have any young 

 ones about, but this was my first experience of any such ferocity. I 

 afterwards examined closely the locality, but could find no trace of a 

 nest or of any other Weasel." — John CUMMING, Crouch End, N. 



On p. 328 of No. 4, F. N. Q., Mr Bernard Saunders refers to "dead 

 Field-mice being found on footpaths more frequently than anywhere 

 else." I suggest that he means Shrews, commonly called Shrew-mice by 

 country-folk, though, as we all know, they are not Mice at all, but 

 belong to the Insectivora. In some parts of Shropshire the Common 

 Shrew goes by the singular local name of Hardy-straw. On p. 282 of 

 the same issue Mr Bevir quotes Hudson as stating that the Crow 

 associates with Rooks and Jackdaws. That the Crow is gregarious in 

 districts where it is numerous I am fully aware from observation in the 

 west of Wales. Here it is gregarious to such an extent that one may 

 see 40 or 50 together on the mountains, and 100 or more will roost 

 together in a wood, but I never knew them to associate with any other 

 species of the family. I can hardly help thinking there is some mistake 



