390 THE PHASCOGALE. 



are scattered sparingly over the body. In almost every specimen that has been captured, a 

 dark line is seen to ran from the nose towards the base of the skull. 



The tail is clotted with fur of the same color as that of the body for one-fifth of its length, 

 but the remaining four-fifths are furnished with a bushy mass of long hair, each hair being 

 about two inches in length. The color of this graceful appendage is a jet black, which affords 

 a very marked contrast to the light hues with which the body and limbs are tinged, and which 

 gives to the animal a notably handsome aspect. The ears are rather large, and the head tapers 

 rapidly towards the nose. 



The general appearance of the Tapoa Tafa is that of a gentle, peaceable little animal, 

 unlikely to do any harm, and well calculated to serve as a domesticated pet. 



Never did animal or man hide under a specious mask of innocence a character more at 

 variance with its mendacious exterior. 



For the Tapoa Tafa is one of the pests of the colonists, a fierce, bloodthirsty, audacious 

 creature, revelling in the warm flesh of newly -slaughtered prey, and penetrating, in search 

 of food, into the very houses of civilized men. Its small size and sharply-pointed head 

 enable it to insinuate itself through the crevices which are almost necessarily left open in 

 fences and walls, and its insatiate appetite induces it to roam through the store-rooms in search 

 of any animal substances that may have been laid up by the owners. Unless placed under lock 

 and key, behind tightly-closed doors, provisions of various kinds are invaded by the Tapoa 

 Tafa, for its powers of climbing are so great that it can ascend even a perpendicular wall, unless 

 its surface be smooth and hard, so that its sharp curved claws can take no hold. 



Fortunately for the farmers, the Tapoa Tafa is not possessed of the chisel-shaped incisor 

 teeth which enable the European rat to gnaw its way through opposing obstacles, so that a 

 wooden door will afford a sufficient barrier against its depredations, providing it be closely 

 fitting, and of solid material. It is said to be very destructive to poultry, and to penetrate by 

 night into the fowl-houses, creeping towards its prey so silently that its presence is not 

 detected, and slaying the inmates as they are slumbering quietly on their perches. 



Were its size equal to that of the Tasmanian wolf, the Phascogale would be an effectual 

 bar to civilization in any district which it might frequent. In its wild state its food is of a 

 mixed vegetable and animal nature, and in the stomach of one of these creatures was found 

 a heterogeneous mass of insect remains, mixed with portions of certain fungi. 



Not only is the Tapoa Tafa an object of destruction for the repeated acts of depredation 

 which it commits in civilized dwellings, but it has also earned a renowned name among white 

 and black men for the extraordinary energy with which it will defend itself when attacked. 

 Small though it may be, and harmless though it may appear, it deals such fierce and rapid strokes 

 with its sharp claws that it can inflict extraordinarily severe lacerations upon the person of its 

 adversary. 



So celebrated is the animal for its powers of resistance, that not even the quick-eyed and 

 agile-limbed native will venture to trust his hand within reach of the claws of an irritated 

 Tapoa Tafa. 



Night is the usual time for the Tapoa Tafa to leave its home and prowl about in 

 search of food, but it is often seen by daylight, and appears to be equally vivacious at 

 either time. 



It is always a most active animal, and chiefly arboreal in its habits, climbing trees and 

 skipping among their branches with the agility of a squirrel. Its long tail may serve to act as 

 a balance during these excursions, but as it is not in the least prehensile, it cannot afford assist- 

 ance in the actual labor of passing from one branch to another. 



Its home is generally made in the hollow trunks of the eucalypti, and in those dark 

 recesses it produces and nourishes its young. It is very widely distributed over Australasia, 

 being found in equal plenty upon plain or mountain, contrary to the usual habits of Australian 

 animals, which are generally confined within certain local limits, according to the elevation 

 of the ground or the character of the soil. 



On account of the large tuft of black hair that decorates the tail, the Tapoa Tafa is in 

 some works mentioned under the title of the " Brush-tailed Phascogale." 



