WAYS OF NATURE 



-7-they prowl, they listen, they bide their time. Wolves 

 often hunt in packs. I have no evidence that foxes 

 do, and if the cats ever do, it is a most extraordi- 

 nary departure. A statement of such an exceptional 

 occurrence should always put one on his guard. In 

 the same story the lynx is represented as making 

 curious antics in the air to excite the curiosity of a 

 band of caribou, and thus lure one of them to its 

 death at the teeth and claws of the waiting hidden 

 pack. This also is so uncatUke a proceeding that 

 no woodsman could ever credit it. Hunters on the 

 plains sometimes "flag"' deer and antelope, and I 

 have seen even a loon drawn very near to a bather 

 in the water who was waving a small red flag. But 

 none of our wild creatures use lures, or decoys, or 

 disguises. This would involve a process of reason- 

 ing quite beyond them. 



Many instances have been recorded of animals 

 seeking the protection of nlan when pursued by 

 their deadly enemies. I heard of a rat which, when 

 hunted by a weasel, rushed into a room where a 

 man was sleeping, and took refuge in the bed at his 

 feet. I heard Mr. Thompson Seton tell of a young 

 pronghorn buck that was vanquished by a rival, 

 and so hotly pursued by its antagonist that it sought 

 shelter amid his horses and wagons. On another 

 occasion Mr. Seton said a jack rabbit pursued by 

 a weasel upon the snow sought safety under his sled. 

 In all such cases, if the frightened animal really 

 184 



