IN FIELD AND WOOD 



the ground and set my fox-terrier upon tim, but 

 the weasel got in the first bite every time and would 

 have escaped had I not again set my foot upon 

 him. I think the weasel quite capable of sneaking 

 upon his prey, but in all the cases that have come 

 under my observation, from chipmunks to domes- 

 tic fowls, he seizes his victim when it is in flight. 



I have known a weasel to drive a chipmunk to 

 the topmost branch of a tall tree, and when he was 

 about to seize it, the chipmunk let go its hold and 

 fell with a cry of despair. In its descent it caught by 

 chance on a limb to which it clxmg, a picture of 

 abject terror, till the weasel gave up the search and 

 left the tree, when the chipmunk, after a long wait- 

 ing, timidly crept down to the earth. 



More light is thrown upon this question by let- 

 ters I have recently received from two correspon- 

 dents, one from Kansas and one from Alaska. The 

 incidents given agree so well with my own obser- 

 vations that I have no doubt about their truth. The 

 Skagway correspondent writes: "The manners in 

 which the shm and aggressive weasel catches the 

 sabbit may be many, but on two occasions I saw the 

 deed done. The first time I was driving across a field 

 of wheat stubble in the west of England, and, hearing 

 the scream of a rabbit, I looked about for the cause, 

 and saw a weasel chasing one with leaps and bounds 

 somewhat Uke the movements of a snake, but more 

 rapid. The rabbit finally stopped, apparently from 

 277 



