STRANGE CREATURES MET IN THE WATER 565 



of interest. I was quite close to the fox, but so intent 

 was the latter upon the object of pursuit that it did not 

 see or heed me. Presently it came to a little open spot in 

 the grass, where a bunch of bobwhites were scratching 

 and feeding like barnyard fowls. Watching for an op- 

 portune moment, the fox suddenly sprang into their 

 midst, but all he secured was the tail feathers of one of 

 the little birds. 



The little exertion required to pull all the tail feathers 

 from a bird seems to be a provision of Nature purposely 

 to aid the bird in escaping from its enemies. 



Once when I succeeded in grasping a ruffed grouse by 

 the tail, it flew away, leaving not only all the tail 

 feathers but also all the feathers of the hind part of its 

 body in my hand, so that the bird was nude half way up 

 its body. We have all had rats and squirrels leave the 

 skin of their tails in our hands and escape. Many of 

 the lizards and even some of the snakes when caught by 

 the tail leave the whole of that portion of their anatomy 

 squirming in the grasp of the enemy, while the rest of 

 the reptile makes good its escape. 



There is one noticeable peculiarity about all the lower 

 animals when they have an adventure. .As soon as the 

 adventure is over and the danger passed it is apparently 

 forgotten. Only last week I pulled a lusty trout to the 

 top of the water, to see it slip off my hook, drop 

 back again in the pool and escape to the shadow of 

 a big stone. I put a fresh worm on my hook and threw 

 it carefully to the retreat and had the satisfaction of 

 landing the same fish and placing it on the fresh grass in 

 my creel ; but this was a very foolhardy fish. 



