Feb., 191 2. Mammals of Illinois and Wisconsin — Cory. 425 



marks, to the height of the reach of the snake, bearing witness to his 

 energetic efforts to escape. He was then lying on the eastern floor in 

 an exhausted state, making a few ineffectual efforts to twist his body, 

 while the Blarina was busy tearing out his masseter and temporal 

 muscles. A large part of the flesh was eaten from his tail, and the 

 temporal and masseter muscles and eye on one side were removed, 

 so that the under jaw hung loose. . . . [The shrew] had appar- 

 ently not been bitten by the snake and was uninjured. Whether the 

 shrew killed the snake is of course uncertain, but the animus with 

 which he devoured the reptile gives color to the suspicion that he in 

 some way frightened him to exhaustion.* 



Regarding the ability of this ferocious little animal to kill Mice, 

 I will quote a statement of Dr. C. Hart Merriam, who says: 



"Having caught a vigorous, though undersized Shrew, I put him 

 in a large wooden box and provided him with an ample supply of beech- 

 nuts, which he ate eagerly. He was also furnished with a saucer of 

 water, from which he frequently drank. After he had remained two 

 days in these quarters, I placed in the box with him an uninjured and 

 very active white-footed mouse. The Shrew at the time weighed 11.20 

 grammes, while the mouse, which was a large adult male, weighed 

 just 17 grammes. No sooner did the Shrew become aware of the 

 presence of the mouse than he gave chase. The mouse, though much 

 larger than the Shrew, showed no disposition to fight, and his superior 

 agility enabled him, for a long time, easily to evade his pursuer, for 

 at a single leap he would pass over the latter's head and to a considerable 

 distance beyond. The Shrew labored at great disadvantage, not 

 only from his inability to keep pace with the mouse, but also, and to a 

 still greater extent, from his defective eyesight. He frequently passed 

 within two inches (31 mm.) of the mouse without knowing of his 

 whereabouts. But he was persistent, and explored over and over 

 again every part of the box, constantly putting the mouse to flight. 

 Indeed, it was by sheer perseverence that he so harassed the mouse, 

 that the latter, fatigued by almost continuous exertion, and also prob- 

 ably weakened by fright, was no longer able to escape. He was first 

 caught by the tail; this proved a temporary stimulant, and he bounded 

 several times across the box, dragging his adversary after him. The 

 Shrew did not seem in the least disconcerted at being thus harshly 

 jerked about his domicil, but continued the pursuit with great deter- 

 mination. He next seized the mouse in its side, which resulted in a 

 rough and tumble, the two rolling over and over and biting each other 

 with much energy. The mouse freed himself, but was so exhausted 



* Amer. Nat., VII, 1873, pp. 490-491. 



