88 UPLAND AND MEADOW. 



have never seen any animal, not even a frightened fox, 

 that ran as this persecuted cat did, upon this occasion. 

 The occurrence was not simply an amusing incident. I 

 learned soon after that this cat had partly returned to 

 a feral state, and vt'as often gone from home for weeks 

 at a time. It was known by its owner to live along the 

 creek, and prey upon the snow-birds and wild mice; and 

 when it did deign to return to its former home it was 

 quite unsocial, and finally became dangerously savage. 

 Since my adventure with tabby, I have found a lazy and 

 indifferent 'coon in the same tree. On being forced to 

 show itself, it started for the creek and trotted across 

 the ice-bound surface at a rattling rate. Once across, it 

 climbed a maple-tree with great ease, and so snugly en- 

 sconced itself where several branches met that I had 

 much difficulty in finding it while standing at the foot 

 of the tree. Probably a hundred times, since then, I 

 have halted by this old tree to see if some animal was 

 occupying it, but never have I found anything larger 

 than a mouse. A common house-monse I took this 

 creature to be, but it may have been a different species. 

 It did not show its teeth, nor give ine the chance to 

 measure its tail ; so I cannot be certain. Still, is it not 

 true that rnus musculus is truly wild, and at home far 

 away from any house? The impression among house- 

 wives is, that after harvest the mice become more 

 numerous and troublesome ; that they leave the house 

 in June, or earlier, and return in October. This is very 

 probably true, for certainly a mouse no way distinguish- 

 able from the semi-domesticated species is all too com- 

 mon in our corn-fields. That another mouse, generically 



