CAPTURE OF THE OPOSSUM. 251 



sun, being apparently dozing, and seeming to 

 enjoy tliis position as a change. Its usual 

 posture, however, when asleep, is either lying at 

 full length on the side, or sitting doubled up with 

 its head under its fore-legs, and its nose touching 

 the stomach, in the manner of the raccoon. 



The opossum cannot be called a gregarious 

 animal. During summer, a brood composing a 

 large family may be found together, but when 

 the young are well grown, they usually separate, 

 and each individual shifts for himself; we have 

 seldom found two together in the same retreat in 

 autumn or winter. 



Although not often seen abroad in very cold 

 weather in winter, this animal is far from falling 

 into that state of torpidity to which the marmots, 

 jumping mice, and several other species of quad- 

 rupeds are subject. In the southern States, 

 there are not many clear nights of starlight or 

 moonshine in which they may not be found 

 roaming about; and although in their farthest 

 northern range they are seldom seen when the 

 ground is covered with snow, yet we recollect 

 having come upon the track of one in snow a 

 foot deep, in the month of March, in Pennsyl- 

 vania ; we pursued it, and captured the opossum 

 in its retreat — a hollow tree. It may be re- 

 marked, that animals like the opossum, raccoon, 

 skunk, etc., that become very fat in autumn re- 



