STOAT. 65 



congener the stoat. The particulars which he has 

 sent me, connected with this discovery, are as follows. 

 During the course of a walk, in company with his 

 brother-in-law, Captain Mitford, R.N., by the mar- 

 gin of a rivulet in time of severe frost, and when the 

 ground was covered with snow, their attention was 

 drawn to the trace of an animal, close to the margin 

 of the ice, where an open current still remained un- 

 frozen from the swiftness of the stream. At this 

 spot the footmarks were very numerous, and the 

 animal appeared to have been frequently moving to 

 and fro within a circuit of a few yards. The trace, 

 which was supposed to be that of a stoat, was followed 

 to a burrow about a quarter of a mile lower down 

 the bank of the rivulet, the footsteps being accom- 

 panied by further marks upon the snow, which were 

 attributed to the prey it had secured, whatever that 

 might be. The entrance to the burrow was a little 

 larger than that of a mole-hole. Spades were imme- 

 diately procured, with a view of digging the animal 

 out, if possible, and ascertaining what the prey was 

 by which the above marks were made. In following 

 the hole, care was taken to keep a stick constantly 

 in advance to mark the direction of the burrow, the 

 earth being soft and rather sandy. It was found to 

 penetrate much further and deeper than was expect- 

 ed ; and it was necessary to dig several yards before 

 any approach could be made to the animal's retreat. 

 At length some remains were met with, which ap- 

 peared to be a mass of fatty decomposing animal 

 matter ; but which, upon closer examination, proved 

 to be the skin of an eel turned inside out. A little fUr- 



