88 RAMBLES ABOUT HOME. 



exertion required of them in contending against the 

 almost constant presence of their two greatest enemies, 

 man and the dog, thus increasing their ingenuity, it can 

 never be determined how far the raccoons, otters, and 

 minks of to-day are in advance, either in intelligence or 

 cunning, of those of some few centuries ago. I presume 

 that the struggle for existence being more desperate, they 

 are more cunning we know they are more wary and 

 that they have had transmitted to them the experience of 

 hundreds of generations. This is readily seen in the case 

 of many birds, notably the common crow, and why not, 

 therefore, with a higher organism ? In the case of the 

 stupid opossum, this question is scarcely applicable, as that 

 animal is a link connecting the present with the past, and 

 therefore not to be judged under the laws governing the 

 present. Further, the low intelligence of the opossum 

 seems rather to favor the view I shall express concerning 

 the peculiar habit that has rendered the animal quite 

 famous. 



Whenever the opossum is captured, it is popularly 

 supposed to feign death, or to "play 'possum," as it is 

 usually called. Now, does this really occur ? Does the 

 opossum ever deliberately make the effort to deceive its 

 captors by assuming such a position, and suppressing its 

 breath to such an extent as to appear dead ? If such be 

 the case, it is well to look beyond the mere fact of thus 

 feigning death, and see what such an act, if voluntary, 

 really indicates : 



1. The object being to render itself useless or unat- 

 tractive to its captors, the opossum must be credited with 

 supposing that, if it can appear to be dead, it will be use- 

 less to its captors. Now, what is there in opossum-life 

 that could give rise to such an impression ? Could the 

 experience of past generations, exposed as they were to 



