GLIMPSES OF WILD- CATS. 23 



musk-rats and otters, too, were drowned out and came to 

 the slope of the terrace, seeking shelter in its wooded 

 portions ; and the minks reveled in an abundance of 

 drowned nestlings that were floated to the shore. This 

 latter fact was new to me, as I had never known minks 

 to eat of food that they had not captured and killed. 

 During this summer freshet the animal life on the mead- 

 ows was literally set afloat, and thus familiar animals were 

 placed in situations that called for the exercise of great 

 ingenuity. This, of itself, should be enough to satisfy 

 any naturalist, as it not only offered a rare chance for the 

 study of these well-known animals, under conditions that 

 were altogether new; but the fauna of the meadows 

 was increased by scores of animals that found refuge upon 

 the drift-wood, and were borne along by the current until 

 meeting here, for the first time, with open bottoms and 

 the river spread over a wide expanse of country and de- 

 posited many of the unwilling travelers. Among the 

 mammals that were thus brought into the neighborhood 

 at least their presence may be explained in this way 

 were several wild-cats. 



Under the circumstances, it was natural that I should 

 spend the day, wandering here and there, upon these 

 flooded meadows, and feasting my eyes on the many 

 sights that were to be seen. It was, for the time, a first- 

 class menagerie, better than any museum or " zoo " I had 

 ever visited, because more instructive. 



Night came all too soon, but still I lingered, hoping 

 for further novelties to appear, nor was I disappointed. 

 While yet a little sunlight lingered in the west, my atten- 

 tion was called to a commotion, not far off, wherein both 

 beasts and birds were concerned. As I was floating al- 

 most aimlessly in my canoe, I heard a scream that was 

 quite strange to me, and, looking in the direction from 



