THE WEASEL S VICTIM 



CHAPTER XIII 



Weasels— Ferrets : Fierceness of^ Anecdotes— Food of Weasels — Manner of hunting 

 for Prey — The Stoat : Change of Colour; Odour of; Food of; their catching 

 Fish— Polecat— The Marten Cat : Habits ; Trapping ; Eating Fruit ; Activity 

 of ; Different Species. 



The bloodthirstiness and ferocity of all the weasel tribe is per- 

 fectly wonderful. The proverb " Uapp^tit vient en mangeant" 

 is well applied to these little animals. The more blood they 

 spill, the more they long for, and are not content till every 

 animal they can get at is slain. A she-ferret, with a litter 

 of young ones, contrived to get loose a few nights back, and 

 instinctively made her way to the henhouse, accompanied by 

 her six kittens, who were not nearly half grown, indeed their 

 eyes were not quite open. Seven hens and a number of tame 

 rabbits were killed before they were discovered ; and every 

 animal that they killed, not withstanding its weight and size, 

 was dragged to the hutch in which the ferrets were kept, and 



