354 THE FERRET. 
make their appearance towards the end of May or the beginning of June. Sometimes 
the nest is made in a deserted rabbrt-burrow, sometimes in the deep and dark crannies 
which are often found in rocky localities, and sometimes in the interstices which exist 
between large and rough stones when they are thrown loosely into a heap. If a stone- 
heap should be covered with grass or brushwood, the Polecat seems to be better pleased 
than if the component parts were bleak and bare, and is more likely to take up its 
residence within its recesses. On one occasion, when a Polecat had entered a rabbit’s 
burrow for the purpose of destroying the inmates, it was followed by a ferret, which 
had been sent into the burrow by its master for the same object. As the ferret remained 
in the burrow for a very long time, its master became impatient, and thinking that 
it might have settled itself to sleep, began to stamp on the ground and to shout into the 
hole, in order to awaken the slumbering animal. 
After a while, to use the language of the narrator, “I heard a faint noise, which 
resembled the squeak of a ferret. I was all astonishment, and could not account 
for it ; I listened again, and the noise grew louder, as if proceeding from more than one 
animal. Presently, I observed the ferret’s tail, and soon afterwards saw that it was 
struggling hard to bring something out of the burrow, which I thought must be a 
rabbit. The ferret continued to drag its prey to the mouth of the hole, when, to my 
astonishment, I found it closely interlocked with a male Polecat ; they had fastened like 
bull-dogs on each other’s necks. The Polecat, when it saw me, did not quit its hold, but 
redoubled its efforts, and dragged the ferret back into the earth, when the squeaking was 
resumed, 
T now feared for the ferret’s life, but soon observed it again bringing its opponent to the 
mouth of the hole, so I drew back, hoping that it might be brought out for me to take a 
shoot. This never however happened, for the Polecat again rallied, kept its hold fast, 
and the belligerent parties once more disappeared. 
I neither saw nor heard anything of them for some time, and again feared for my 
little champion’s life. But a third time I saw it dragging out its antagonist with renewed 
vigour. The ferret brought its opponent to the mouth of the hole, when a desperate 
struggle ensued, and just as I expected to see the Polecat defeated, the ferret, quite 
exhausted, relinquished the combat and came hopping towards me, considerably mangled 
about the throat. Its enemy did not dare to follow, but stood deliberately snuffing up 
the air at the mouth of its burrow. I took ann at the Polecat, and, strange to say, my 
gun missed fire at least four or five times, when the little hero, turning quickly round, 
escaped into the earth, thus failing with my auxiliaries, my ferret and my gun. 
IT attribute the defeat of the ferret to the inevitable loss of vigour which every 
animal must suffer when confined under the dominion of man, and restrained from 
those habits of invariable instinct which in their natural state produces in them the great 
height of perfection.” 
In no manner is the dominion of mankind over the inferior animals more powerfully 
asserted than in his power of subjecting them to his influence, and bending their natural 
instincts to his service. There really appears to be hardly any group of animals, and, 
indeed, but very few families, which do not furnish their quota to the number of the 
servants of the human race. 
We have already seen that several species of the monkey race are employed in the 
service of the human inhabitants of their native land. The bats appear to have escaped 
at present from the service of mankind, although it has been proved that they are 
possessed of a considerable amount of intellect, and can be tamed without difficulty. 
Among the cats, the chetah and the caracal are examples of wild animals whose destructive 
instinct has been employed in the service of mankind. Several species of the civet tribe 
have been taught to chase and destroy rats, mice, or other domestic pests, while the 
services which are rendered to mankind by the dog are too well known to need more than 
a passing reference, 
Even those unpromising animals, the weasels, can be subjected to the wondrous 
super-eminence of the human intellect. The Ferrer is well known as the constant 
— 
