88 SQUIRRELS AND OTHER FUR-BEARERS 



its top till they came to a floor timber that stopped 

 their progress, when they turned at bay, and 

 looked excitedly back along the course they had 

 come. In a moment a weasel, evidently in hot 

 pursuit of them, came out of the hole, but, see- 

 ing the farmer, checked his course and darted 

 back. The rats had doubtless turned to give 

 him fight, and would probably have been a 

 match for him. 



The weasel seems to track its game by scent. 

 A hunter of my acquaintance was one day sit- 

 ting in the woods, when he saw a red squirrel 

 run with great speed up a tree near him, and 

 out upon a long branch, from which he leaped 

 to some rocks, disappearing beneath them. In 

 a moment a weasel came in full course upon 

 his trail, ran up the tree, then out along the 

 branch, leaping from there to the rocks just as 

 the squirrel had done and pursuing him into 

 their recesses. 



Doubtless the squirrel fell a prey to him. The 

 squirrel's best game would have been to keep 

 to the higher treetops, where he could easily 

 have distanced the weasel. But beneath the 

 rocks he stood a very poor chance. I have 

 often wondered what keeps such an animal as 

 the weasel in check, for they are quite rare. 

 They never need go hungry, for rats and sguir- 



