ENCAMPMENT IN THE WILDERNESS 105 



have seen one eating the refuse which had been ejected 

 from the nest of an osprey. All and every small crea- 

 ture that it succeeds in surprising, bird or mammal, 

 is also devoured by it, and even other mustela ; but 

 in this it is not singular, for I have seen a marten 

 devour an ermine, and have reason to think that 

 when these little animals fight together, which they 

 sometimes do, for they are all fierce and bloodthirsty, the 

 conquerors devour the vanquished, I have also seen the 

 tree-fox and the common otter {Lutra Canadensis) fight 

 together, the object of the fox being to obtain the fish 

 captured by the otter. In this case the fight was not 

 fatal to either combatant ; for the otter, after a time, 

 returned to the water, taking its fish with it. 



It is probable that these fights would be much more 

 frequently witnessed if persons taking an interest in 

 natural history would watch for them, bemg careful to 

 keep themselves concealed. My own plan was to make 

 a screen of leafy branches, completely covering myself 

 with leaves ; and having selected a spot which I knew 

 that the animal which I wanted to watch frequented, I 

 have waited for six or eight hours to make my obser- 

 vations. It is necessary to remain perfectly quiet, not 

 to smoke, and to take care that the wind is blowing 

 from the direction in which you expect the animal to 

 appear. 



The otter mentioned above does not differ much from 

 the species found in England. It is a little larger, of a dark 

 brown colour, and has the same habits as those of Europe. 

 It is scarce here, only a few odd ones being seen ; but its 

 pelt is valuable, fetching from two to five pounds in 

 England ; while that of the tree-fox is scarcely worth a 

 charge of powder. 



There were small birds here in gfreat numbers, but 

 only a few species were identified with certainty. Among 

 them were the American yellow bird, which is a species 

 of siskin, Chrysomitris tristis, which we had already seen 



