O SANGUINARY DISPOSITION. 



the spot, when out dashed a large lynx from his ambush, 

 and made several hounds towards them. But as the poor 

 creatures had somewhat the start of him, they were so fortu- 

 nate as to escape his clutches. Seeing that his efforts were 

 fruitless, the beast now turned about and retreated to his 

 hiding-place, which the peasant observing, he hastened home 

 for his gun, and stealthily approaching the spot, shot him 

 whilst in his lair." 



It is generally asserted that if, when the lynx has satisfied 

 his hunger, part of the victim remains, he buries it for a 

 future meal. But I doubt the story for the reason, that, 

 during my wanderings in the northern forests, I have 

 constantly fallen in with hares or rather their bodies, the 

 heads being usually gone which had been killed by those 

 beasts, and lying altogether on the surface of the snow ; 

 on which remains, indeed, I and my people have often 

 feasted. 



In proportion to their numbers, lynxes are probably more 

 destructive than any of the Scandinavian wild beasts. Like 

 the wolf, the lynx is very sanguinary, and slaughters ten 

 times more than he devours ; and when he thus commits 

 needless butcheries, he does little besides gorge himself with 

 the blood of his victims. " In a pretty large wood in the 

 vicinity of this place," so we are told by M. Skoldberg, " a 

 she-lynx and her two cubs, killed in a single day no less than 

 twenty-three sheep. The necks of some were partially eaten, 

 but the bodies remained untouched." Pontoppidan, when 

 speaking of the lynx, tells us something of the same kind. 

 " They are very cunning in undermining a sheep-fold," 

 such are his words, " where they help themselves very 

 nobly." 



