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 is 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 



