Stoats, 1 2 1 



known to suck the blood of infants left asleep in the 

 cradle upon the floor, biting the child behind the ear. 

 They hunt in couples also— seldom in larger numbers. 

 I have seen three at work together, and with a single 

 shot killed two out of the trio. In elegance of shape 

 they surpass the weasel, and the colour is brighter. 

 Their range of destruction seems only limited by their 

 strength : they attack anything they can manage. 



The keeper looks upon weasel and stoat as bitter 

 foes, to be ruthlessly exterminated with shot and gin. 

 He lays to their charge deadly crimes of murder, the 

 death of rabbits, hares, birds, the theft and destruction 

 of his young broods, even occasional abstraction of 

 a chicken close to his very door, despite the dogs 

 chained there. They are not easily shot, being quick 

 to take shelter at the sight of a dog, and when hard 

 hit with the pellets frequently escaping, though 

 perhaps to die. Both weasel and stoat, and especially 

 the latter, will snap viciously at the dog that overtakes 

 them, even when sore wounded, always aiming to fix 

 their teeth in his nose, and fighting savagely to the 

 last gasp. The keeper slays a wonderful number in 

 the course of a year, yet they seem as plentiful as ever. 

 He traps perhaps more than he shoots. 



It is not always safe to touch a stoat caught in a 

 trap ; he lies apparently dead, but lift him up, and 



