1130 Life-histories of Northern Animals 



into its burrows. I observed this more than twenty times, at 

 intervals throughout the five weeks of the Shrew's captivity, 

 and the last flutter produced as much disturbance as the first. 

 This particular sound must have been heard hundreds of 

 times during that period, yet even at the last could not be heard 

 with equanimity by the Shrew." '^ 



In this we read a story of perpetual danger from birds of 

 prey, through past ages in the history of Blarina's race. 



TOUCH Its eyes are of use apparently only to distinguish light 



SIGHT from shade, but its exquisite hearing and sense of touch seem 

 to compensate for the lack of vision, and to render it equally 

 at home in the blazing sun, on the snow, in the midnight 

 woods, or pursuing the Field-mouse to its lair far underground. 

 It has, indeed, exchanged its sight for better touch, nor has it 

 lost by the bargain; that I learned at Rat Portage, when 

 collecting long ago. One line of traps consisted of pitfalls 

 made by sinking pickle-jars in the mouse-runs. The run was 

 fenced and roofed and smoothed to lend all baleful aid, and I 

 caught many Mice and some Cooper Shrews, but never once a 

 Blarina did I get; its senses, though limited in number, totalled 

 up far better than those of the bead-eyed Mice it preyed on. 

 The only Short-tailed Shrews I got were taken in cage-traps 

 baited with fresh meat. 



Kennicott, after capturing a pair of these for obser- 

 vation, wrote :'^ "While alive, the minute black eye is dis- 

 tinctly seen and always open; but, though the sense of sight 

 may be possessed in the dark, it certainly is not used in the full 

 light. Upon waving difi^erent objects before one, or thrusting 

 my finger or a stick close to its face, no notice was taken of it 

 whatever; but if I made any noise near by, it always started. 

 If the floor was struck, or even the air disturbed, it would start 

 back from that direction. I observed no indication that an 

 acute sense of smell enabled it to recognize objects at any 

 considerable distance; but its hearing was remarkable. An 

 exceedingly delicate sense of touch was exhibited by the 



^ Loc. cit., p. 513. "Quad 111., 1858, pp. 95-6. 



