MARTENS, POLECATS, WEASELS, STOATS 183 



descends to notice such small quarry. To poultry 

 he is destruction itself ; once let him gain entrance 

 to the henhouse of some lonely glen farm, and he 

 will slaughter the lot for the mere pleasure of the 

 thing. Hares and rabbits he tracks and captures 

 without the least trouble. He is swift of foot, and 

 his agility is aided by the stupid terror these creatures 

 have when pursued by him or any other of his tribe. 

 Hares will run from foxes or dogs as only hares can 

 run ; rabbits are equally swift for a short run of a 

 few hundred yards ; but just let one of the weasel 

 family get on their track, as they are sure to do if 

 the chance offers, and the hare or rabbit, as soon as 

 he finds out what his pursuer is, becomes half numb 

 with deadly fear. In the case of most of the weasel 

 tribe it is the pungent scent which betrays them, but 

 this does not apply so much to the marten. 



I have often watched rabbits hunted in this way, 

 and it is impossible to mistake their cry of terror if 

 you have once heard it, or to forget the bewildered 

 look of the creature and its limping gait. It will 

 pass close to you, shrieking as it disappears in the 

 cover. Close on its track follows the enemy, bounding 

 along in the chase, hunting, like the hound, by scent. 

 The end will soon come. The stoat has passed so 

 close that we could have kicked him up in the air 



