268 THE AMERICAN BEAVER. 



by their wits; and they are unquestionably endowed 

 with mental capacities, of higher relative power, to 

 enable them to maintain their existence. The pro- 

 pagation and perpetuation of their species to the 

 present time, testifies to the continuous triumph of 

 their superior intelligence over the feebler capacities 

 of the non-carnivorous mutes upon whom they sub- 

 sist. They are able to endure hunger and fatigue, 

 to wait and watch for prey, and to invent and prac- 

 tice many artifices for the capture of the latter. Many 

 of them have great physical strength, a large brain, 

 powerful respiration, and remarkable fleetness of foot. 

 Their personal appearance commands both respect 

 and admiration. Who ever looked into the clear 

 round eye of a lion, without being impressed with the 

 thought that there was a quick intelligence and a 

 powerful will behind it, which, in the open plain or 

 in the thicket, it would be hard to deceive and diffi- 

 cult to overmatch ! 



The carnivorous animals construct nothing, save a 

 burrow or a den. Their personal acts, which have 

 never been carefully studied, furnish, therefore, the 

 only sources of information concerning their mental 

 endowments. But enough of these have been wit- 

 nessed and authenticated to illustrate the subject. It 

 will be sufficient for the present purpose to introduce 

 one or two cases. 



The fox, when pursued, often takes to the bed of a 

 shallow stream to conceal his footprints and suppress 

 his scent; or runs back upon his own track for some 

 distance, and then, making a long leap at a right 

 angle, changes his direction. These devices were 

 well adapted to embarrass and foil his pursuers. It 



