26 NATURAL HISTORY ESSAYS 



cough and sneezing, and refused its food entirely for 

 three days ; at the end of that time, however, it 

 began to take milk and chicken soup. One portion 

 of this concealed half an ounce of castor oil ; the 

 ocelot soon began to mend, and at the end of a 

 fortnight was quite well. 



Wilson, the American ornithologist, had a very 

 tame and playful ocelot in his possession; indeed 

 sometimes too playful, and rough in her play. On 

 one occasion she seized a chamois leather glove in 

 romping, tore it to pieces and instantly swallowed it, 

 the owner of the glove being unable to rescue it even 

 with both hands ! She was accustomed to sleep on 

 the back of a certain horse ; but having on one 

 occasion clawed her steed in settling down on his 

 hindquarters, was dislodged after a struggle, and 

 received a kick she never forgot. She occasionally 

 escaped and worked havoc amongst the poultry ; it 

 was noticed that when fed on milk and farinaceous 

 food her temper was better than when dieted on 

 flesh. 



This animal (or another of Wilson's) when on 

 board the U.S. "Vandalia" developed an abscess 

 about the root of her milk teeth; she allowed herself 

 to be taken into a person's lap while the ship's doctor 

 extracted the tooth. This individual was most 

 useful in ridding the ship of rats ; leaping ten feet at 

 a single bound, she would kill her prey so quickly 

 that it had no time to squeak. When in the warm 



