110 BULLETIN NO. VII. 
or bounding, and is capable of running with great speed, 
although it seldom trusts itself beyond the immediate vicinity 
of cover. Under the excitement of pursuit, however, its cour- 
age is surprising, for it will attack, seize by the throat and 
cling to a grouse, hare or other animal, strong enough to carry 
it off; and it does not hesitate on ocasion to betake itself to 
the water. Sometimes, when met with in a thicket or stony 
place, it will stand and gaze upon the intruder, as if conscious 
of security; and, although its boldness has been exaggerated 
in the popular stories which have made their way into books 
of natural history, it cannot be denied that, in proportion to 
its size, it is at least as courageous as the tiger or the lion.” 
With a mind preoccupied in contemplation of the exploits of 
the chase of great Carnivora—those grand exhibitions of pred- 
atory instincts on the part of some of the strongest beasts, 
one 1s apt to overlook, or at least to underestimate, the compara- 
tive prowess of some lesser animals. Doubtless, the entomolo- 
gist would give instances of equal courage and perseverance 
in pursuit of prey, of vastly greater comparative strength and 
skill in its capture, and superior destructiveness. Probably — 
the great mass of insect-eating animals—an immense and 
varied host—are in no whit behind in this respect. And in 
nothing the instincts and predacious habits of the Weasels and 
Stoats, we observe that, to grant them only equal courage and 
equal comparative prowess, we must nevertheless accede to 
them a wider and more searching range of active operations 
against a greater variety of objects, more persevering and 
more enduring powers of chase, and a higher grade of pure 
destructiveness, taking more life than is necessary for immedi- 
ate wants. The great cats are mainly restricted each to partic- 
ular sources of food supply, which they secure by particular 
modes of attack; and, their hunger satisfied, they quietly 
await another call of nature. Not so, however, with the Wea- 
sels. No animal or bird, below a certain maximum of strength, 
or other means of self-defence, is safe from their ruthless and 
relentless pursuit. The enemy assails them not only upon the 
ground, but under it, and on trees, and in the water. Swift 
and sure-footed, he makes open chase and runs down his prey; 
keen of scent, he tracks them, and makes the fatal spring 
upon them unawares; lithe and of extraordinary slenderness 
of body, he follows the smaller through the intricacies of their 
hidden abodes, and kills them in their homes. And if he does 
not kill for the simple love of taking life, in gratification of 
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