626 



Life-histories of Northern Animals 



LIFE 



The Snowshoe-rabbit, the Wabasso of Hiawatha, is a 

 wonderful creature, the product of a snowdrift crossed with a 

 Httle Brown Hare. The terror of the northern woods is — not 

 cold, there are many ways of meeting that — but deep snow. 

 Snow is the fearful menace, snow that covers up the food sup- 



Fig. 174 — Feet of Hares, half life-size. The three at left illustrate the snowshoes of the Lepus atnericanus; the 

 two at the right the feet of Kansas Jack- rabbit {Lepus melanotis), which weighs twice as much. 



plies, that robs the swiftest of its speed, and leaves it at the 

 mercy of the foes that are winged or otherwise equipped to 

 follow fast and lay it low. 



Nature has tried many means of saving her own from the 

 snow-death, one is — sleeping till it is over; this is the way of 

 the Woodchuck. Another is storing up food and hiding; this 

 is the manner of the Wood-mouse. Yet another is stilts; the 

 plan that the Moose has adopted. The last is snowshoes. 

 This is the simplest, most scientific, and best — and the plan 

 of the Snowshoe-hare. 



The Moose is like the wading bird of the shore, that has 

 stilts and can wade well for a space, yet soon reaches the limit, 

 where it is no better off than a land bird. But the Snowshoe is 

 like the swimmer, it skims over the surface where it will, not 

 caring if there be i or 1000 feet of the element below it. In 

 this lies Wabasso's strength. 



