THE COMMON WEASEL. 97 



she observed two weasels running after her, and which were 

 soon followed in the chase by upwards of a dozen more. She 

 set off at full speed to reach another dik<^ over which she jumped, 

 hoping thereby to place a barrier between herself and her 

 pursuers ; but, to her great surprise, they came bolting through 

 the holes of the second dike also, chasing her apparently with 

 the most determined fury. For upwards of a quarter of a 

 mile the furious creatures continued close behind her; and it 

 was not until she reached a piece of rising ground, on the other 

 side of the bog, that she fairly outstripped them, and reached 

 home safely. 



" Several years ago, in another district in Scotland, a farmer, 

 while riding on horseback through boggy land, over which he 

 could make but little speed, roused by accident upwards of 

 twenty weasels from an old dike, in which they had burrowed. 

 They sprung up upon the horse's legs and the boots of the 

 rider, and though he defended himself dexterously with the 

 whip, yet, what with the jumping about of the terrified animal 

 he rode, and the agility of his assailants, he declared he fought, 

 as for his life, to beat them off."* 



The nest of the weasel is usually placed either in a hole in a 

 bank or dry ditch, or in a hollow tree ; and is formed of grass, 

 hay, leaves, and moss. Buffon tells us that the putrid carcase 

 of a wolf having been hung up as a terror to others, a weasel 

 entered its throat and formed a nest there, and had produced 

 her litter, before the fact was discovered by a peasant. The 

 young, from four to five in number, are born with their eyes 

 closed ; but they are soon able to leave the nest and hunt 

 with their parents, who shew great affection towards them, and 

 will fight for them against a dog, if he should attempt to touch 

 them. Even if a man seizes her young, the weasel, although 

 alone, will make some attempt to regain them as the following 

 anecdote will shew : " A labourer was standing in a footpath 

 close to a hedge, at Chilwell, near Nottingham, when he saw a 

 weasel with a young one in her mouth, advancing towards him. 



* The Times, Oct. 18, 1839. 



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