100 NORTHERN HARE. 



Borealts,) is occasionally seen with one of these species in its talons. But 

 its most formidable enemy is the great horned owl, (Bubo Virginianus.) 

 We have also, on one occasion, observed a common house-cat dragging a 

 full gro^^Ti Northern Hare from the woods, to feed her young. Lads on 

 their w^ay to school, entrap them with snares attached to a bent twig, 

 placed along the paths they nightly resort to. The hunter finds recrea- 

 tion in pursuing them with hounds, whilst he places himself in some 

 wood-path where they were last seen to pass. The Hare runs from fifty 

 to a hundred yards ahead of the dogs, and in its windings and turnings to 

 escape from them frequently returns to the spot where the hunter is 

 stationed, and falls by a shot from his gun. 



The Northern Hare, when rapidly pursued, makes such great efforts to 

 escape, that the poor creature (as we have said already,) is occasionally 

 successful, and fairly outruns the hounds, "whilst the hunter is cunningly 

 avoided by it when doubling. After one of these hard chases, however, 

 we have known the animal die from the fatigue it had undergone, or from 

 having been overheated. We once saw one, which had been closely 

 pressed by the dogs nearly all the afternoon, return to a thicket after the 

 hounds had been called off, and the sportsmen had given up the vain pur- 

 suit. Next morning we examined the place it had retired to, and to our 

 surprise, discovered the hare sitting in its form, under a dwarfish, crooked, 

 pine-bush ; it w^as covered with snow, and quite dead. In this instance the 

 hare had no doubt been greatly overheated by the race of the preceding 

 day, as well as exhausted, and terrified ; and the poor thing being in that 

 condition very susceptible of cold, was probably chilled by the night air 

 and the falling snow, until its palpitating heart, gradually impelling the 

 vital fluid with fainter and slower pulsations, at length ceased its throb- 

 bings forever. 



Sometimes we have found these Hares dead in the woods after the melt- 

 ing of the snow in the Spring, and on examination we found they were 

 entangled in portions of wire snares, frequently, entwined round their 

 necks ; from which they had been unable to extricate themselves. 



This species when caught alive cannot be taken into the hand, like the 

 gray rabbit, with impunity ; the latter, when seized by the ears or hind- 

 legs, soon becomes quiet, and is harmless ; but the Northern Hare strug- 

 gles to escape, and makes a formidable resistance with its teeth and nails. 

 On one occasion a servant who was expert at catching the gray rabbit in 

 traps, came to us with a rueful countenance, holding a hare in his hands, 

 exhibiting at the same time sundry severe scratches he had received, 

 showing us his torn clothes, and a place on his leg which the animal 

 had bitten, and declaring that he had caught " a rabbit as cross as a 



