Cats. 



43 



mal, who, at last, would come to me occasionally, and 

 permit me to caress his head, because I scratched him 

 behind the ears. Encouraged by this measure of con- 

 fidence, I went so far on one occasion as to lift him a few 

 inches from the ground ; on which he behaved himself 

 very much like a wild cat just trapped in the woods, and 



Wild Cat. 



Pen drawing by D. Munro, after the etching by Karl Bodmer. 



for some days after it was impossible even to get near 

 him. He never came down-stairs in a regular way, but 

 communicated with the outer world by means of roofs and 

 trees, like the other untameable creatures in the garrets. 

 On returning home after an absence I sought him vainly, 

 and have never encountered him since. 



This individual lived on the confines of civilisation, and 

 it is possible that his tendency to friendliness might have 



