

a few rare individuals better endowed by 

 nature than their fellows, I must leave to 

 the reader to determine ; for I do not know. 

 This determination, however, must come, 

 not by theory or prejudice or a priori rea- 

 soning, but simply by watching the animals 

 more closely when they are unconscious of 

 man's presence and so express themselves 

 naturally. As a possible index in the mat- 

 ter I might suggest that I have rarely made 

 an observation, however incredible it seemed 

 to me at the time, without sooner or later 

 finding some Indian or trapper or natural- 

 ist who had seen a similar thing among 

 the wild creatures. The woodcock genius, 

 whose story is recorded here, is a case in 

 -' point. So is the porcu- 

 pine that rolled down a 

 T long hill for the fun of 

 the thing apparently an 

 observation that has been 

 twice confirmed, once by 

 a New Brunswick poacher 

 and again by a Harvard 

 instructor. So also are the 

 wildcat that stole my net, 



