THE LOUPCERVIER. 335 



for Jim, who was not provided with skates, had by dint of 

 short cuts come within range, and had opened fire with his 

 Brummagem gun. His bullets skipped playfully along 

 the ice between me and the otter, who was making for open 

 water not far ahead. Once again I caught him up, and 

 this time delivered a windmill blow with the butt, which 

 capsized the otter and myself also. A thousand fireworks 

 danced before my eyes, and when, dazed and bleed ing from 

 a crack on the head, I managed to rise to a sitting posture, 

 I had the satisfaction of beholding Toma polishing off the 

 otter with the butt of his long gun, whilst my ill-used 

 weapon lay on the ice beside me, with the stock cracked 

 in two. 



The loupcervier (Felis Canadensis) is a shy roving animal 

 that, though by no means scarce, is seldom seen by the 

 hunter. Their chief food is the American hare, but they 

 also eat grouse, beaver, musquash, even mice, anything 

 in fact they can catch. They have not much pluck, 

 and do not venture to attack an old beaver or a deer. I 

 therefore do not believe the anecdotes that one hears 

 sometimes of their attacking men, the following for in- 

 stance : It seems that near a certain settlement, a man was 

 walking home at night from the forge, with a set of horse- 

 shoes in his hands. His path lay through the woods. A 

 loupcervier jumped off the branch of a tree on to his neck. 

 The man drove the beast off with repeated blows of the 

 horse-shoes, but "his face was a good deal spoiled," sic. 

 The loupcervier is also said to catch ducks in a very clever 

 manner. When he sees ducks swimming in a pond in the 

 woods, he creeps cautiously to the bank and lies down in 

 concealed positions and in proper attitude for a spring, then 



