LITTLE BEASTS OF FIELD AND WOOD 



one's self. Nor is the everyday life of the weasel 

 quiet or commonplace ; his one object in life 

 apparently is to kill, first to appease his hunger, 

 then to satisfy his thirst for warm blood, and after 

 that for the mere joy of killing. 



The few opportunities I have had for observing 

 these animals have never shown them occupied in 

 any other way, nor can any hint of anything dif- 

 ferent be gained from the various writers on the 

 subject, while accounts of their attacking and even 

 killing human beings in a kind of blind fury are 

 too numerous and apparently too well authenti- 

 cated to be entirely ignored. These attacks are 

 said usually to be made by a number of weasels 

 acting in concert, and the motive would appear to 

 be revenge for some injury done to one of their 

 number. There seems to be something peculiar 

 about the entire family of weasels. The Amer- 

 ican sable or pine marten is said to have strange 

 ways that have puzzled naturalists and hunters 

 for years. In the wilderness no amount of trap- 



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