WEASELS 



it casts no shadow, and you will find that the 

 black point holds your eye in spite of yourself, 

 and that at a little distance it is quite impossible 

 to follow the outline of the weasel itself Cover 

 the tail with snow, and you can begin to make 

 out the position of the rest of the animal ; but 

 as long as the tip of the tail is in sight you see 

 that and that only. The ptarmigan and northern 

 hare also retain some spot or point of dark colour 

 when they take on their winter dress, and these 

 dark points undoubtedly serve the same purpose 

 as in the case of the ermine. 



I base my statement that weasels ordinarily 

 travel by a series of leaps wholly on the appear- 

 ance of their tracks, being unable to imagine any 

 other mode of progression that could produce 

 them. But at the same time I am bound to 

 confess that I have never seen one moving in 

 that manner. In fact I have only seen three or 

 four living specimens in all, and these only for 

 a few seconds at a time at most, and they seemed 



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