WEASELS 



with a suddenness that defies the keenest eye- 

 sight. 



In all probability this vanishing is accomplished 

 by extreme rapidity of motion, but if this is the 

 case then the creature succeeds in doing some- 

 thing utterly impossible to any other warm- 

 blooded animal of its size. Mice, squirrels, and 

 some of the smaller birds are all of them swift 

 enough at times, but except in the case of the 

 humming-bird none of them, I believe, succeeds in 

 accomplishing the result achieved by the weasels. 

 The humming-bird, in spite of its small size, 

 leaves us a pretty definite impression of the 

 direction it has taken when it darts away; but 

 when a mink, half a yard in length and weighing 

 several pounds, stands motionless before one with 

 his dark coat conspicuous against almost any 

 background, and the next instant is gone without 

 a rustle or the tremor of a blade of grass, it leaves 

 one with an impression of witchcraft difficult to 

 dispel, and best appreciated when one has seen for 



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