410 NATURAL HISTORY HEADER. 



shape. There was a sharp skirmish and the hogs dispersed, 

 and the traveler found the wolf dead on the held. 



10. Courage of the Cat. — A cat was one day playing 

 with her kittens before the door of a stable where she lived, 

 when a large hawk darted down and seized one of the kit- 

 tons. The old cat at once sprang upon the enemy, and 

 obliged him to let the kitten go. A terrific battle then 

 ensued between the two. The hawk, from the power of 

 his wings, the sharpness of his talons, and the strength of 

 his beak, for a while had the advantage, and cruelly la- 

 cerated the cat and tore out one of her eyes. Nothing 

 daunted, puss continued the fight, and succeeded in break- 

 ing one of the hawk's wings. She had him then at her 

 mercy, and, after a few more vigorous scratches, she tore 

 off his head. Satisfied with her victory, and unheeding 

 her own condition, she ran to the bleeding kitten, licked 

 its wounds, and purred in great contentment over her res- 

 cued offspring. 



11. A Dog's Sensibility. — A few years since, a noble- 

 man, who had an estate upon the famous Loch Erne, in the 

 north of Ireland, had a spaniel which on many occasions 

 exhibited an uncommon intelligence. It seemed to have 

 an instinct to fetch and carry, and would often exhibit this 

 propensity without special training. Observing the gar- 

 dener laying clown his hatchet to adjust his stakes, the dog 

 took the hatchet in his mouth, and, at the proper moment, 

 presented it handle first. This he continued to do until 

 the job was finished. One day a frightened sheep broke 

 away from the flock, plunged into the loch, and swam di- 

 rectly away from the shore. The dog followed and caught 

 the sheep a mile and a half out, just as it was sinking from 

 the weight of its water-soaked fleece, and held it up by the 

 horns until a boat arrived which had been sent in pursuit. 



