292 THE STOAT. 



Although tolerably swift of foot, it is entirely unable to cope with, the great speed of the 

 hare, an animal which frequently falls a victim to the Stoat. Yet it is enabled, by its great 

 delicacy of scent and the singular endurance of its frame, to run down any hare on whose track 

 it may have set itself, in spite of the long legs and wonderful speed of its prey. When pur- 

 sued by a Stoat, the hare does not seem to put forward its strength as it does when it is 

 followed by dogs, but as soon as it discovers the nature of its pursuer, seems to lose all energy, 

 and hops lazily along as if its faculties were benumbed by some powerful agency. This strange 

 lassitude, in whatever manner it may be produced, is of great service to the Stoat, in enabling 

 it to secure an animal which might in a very few minutes place itself beyond the reach of 

 danger, by running in a straight line. 



In this curious phenomenon, there are one or two points worthy of notice. 



Although the Stoat is physically less powerful than the hare, it yet is endowed with, and 

 is conscious of, a moral superiority, which will at length attain its aim. The hare, on the 

 other hand, is sensible of its weakness, and its instincts of conservation are much weaker than 

 the destructive instinct of its pursuer. It must be conscious of its inferiority, or it would not 

 run, but boldly face its enemy, for the hare is a fierce and determined fighter when it is 

 matched against animals that are possessed of twenty times the muscular powers of the Stoat. 

 But as soon as it has caught a glimpse of the fiery eyes of its persecutor, its faculties fail, and 

 its senses become oppressed with that strange lethargy which is felt by many creatures when 

 they meet the fixed gaze of the serpent's eye. A gentleman who once met with a dangerous 

 adventure with a cobra, told me that the creature moved its head gently from side to side in 

 front of his face, and that a strange and soothing influence began to creep over his senses, 

 depriving him of the power of motion, but at the same time removing all sense of fear. So the 

 hare seems to be influenced by a similar feeling, and to be enticed as it were to its fate, the 

 senses of fear and pain benumbed, and the mere animal faculties surviving, to be destroyed by 

 the single bite. 



I have no doubt but that this phenomenon is nearly connected with the curious benumbing 

 of the nerves, and the deprivation of fear which is recorded by Livingstone in his well-known 

 account of his adventure with a lion, which is mentioned in this work. The preservative 

 faculties of the hare are excited by the loud noisy dogs that make so violent an attack upon 

 the hare, and which consequently makes use of all her muscular and intellectual powers to 

 escape from them. But the silent, soft-footed, gliding Stoat steals quietly on its victim 

 without alarming it by violent demonstrations, soothes it to its death and kills it daintily. 



Be it noticed that there are human types of the Stoat, or rather that the visible animal is 

 but an outward emblem of the inward nature. 



If in the course of the chase, the hunted animal should cross a stream, the Stoat will do 

 the same, although, when it is engaged in the pursuit of water-voles, it seldom ventures to 

 follow them into an element where they are more at their ease than their pursuer. Still, 

 although it may not choose to match itself against so accomplished a swimmer and diver as 

 the water-vole, it is no mean proficient in the natatory art. 



Mr. Thompson relates a curious instance of the prowess which is displayed by the Stoat 

 in crossing a tolerably wide expanse of water. "A respectable farmer, when crossing in his 

 boat over an arm of the sea, about one mile in breadth, observed a ripple proceeding from 

 some animal in the water, and on rowing up, found that it was a Stoat which he had no doubt 

 was swimming in a direct line from the shore, and it had reached the distance by a quarter of 

 a mile when taken. The poor animal was cruelly killed, although its gallant swimming might 

 have pleaded in favor of its life." 



As to the food of the Stoat, the animal seems to be very easily contented in this respect, 

 killing and eating almost any description of wild quadrupeds, birds, and reptiles. Of rabbits 

 it is very fond, and kills great numbers of them, especially when they are young. 



A curious scene between a Stoat and rabbit was once witnessed in a forest. A piercing 

 cry was heard among some underwood, from which issued a poor rabbit, bearing with it a 

 Stoat, clinging to its neck. The Stoat, on finding that its actions were observed, quitted its 

 prey and ran up a tree. One of the keepers, who witnessed the scene, had not his gun with 



