PUR-CLAD FIGHTERS. 137 



ture well, and there are apparently records enough 

 of his murderous deeds to amply justify such an 

 opinion. 



One would never think, though, to see the pretty 

 little animal in confinement, that he was such a dis- 

 reputable character ; but when I search among his 

 records I find substantially the same old story every- 

 where. Audubon, William Macgillivray (who de- 

 scribes the European ermine), Elliott Coues, John 

 Burroughs, Dr. Merriam, and J. A. Allen all tell 

 equal tales of the creature's relentless passion for de- 

 struction. Even E. P. Koe does not let him pass 

 without a just " dab " in I^ature's Serial Story, and I 

 find the tale repeated there of his killing " fifty chick- 

 ens in one night " out of " pure cussedness " has gone 

 the rounds of the creature's most recent biographers. 

 It is apparently unnecessary for me to add anything 

 of a like nature to these woeful tales, but I think I 

 shall be justified in telhng one, the finale of which 

 will relieve the series from a character of monotony. 

 But first let us have some of that data about the 

 so-called ermine's bloodthirsty character which was 

 promised on a previous page. 



Audubon says : " Yet, with all these external at- 

 tractions, this weasel is fierce and bloodthirsty, pos- 

 sessing an intuitive propensity to destroy every ani- 

 mal and bird within its reach, some of which— 



