1892.
July 19
(No 4)
[margin]A Weasel
swims the river at night.[/margin]
Concord, Massachusetts.
Mass.
Concord.- [delete]By far[/delete] The most interesting of the day's
experiences remains to be told. I was paddling
past the swimming place on my way home keeping
the middle of the river (here about 200 ft. wide) where
a long, narrow belt of wind-ruffled water was still
faintly silvered by the light in the western sky
when a small, long, dusky form shot directly [delete][?][/delete] across
my bows, then turned short about and started back
towards the south shore. I whirled the canoe around
and followed but although I exerted myself to the
utmost I did not at first seem to gain much on
the mysterious little creature which skimmed over,
rather than cleft through, the water & at a rate
of speed which amazed me. Indeed I thought at
first it must be a crippled Bird or Bat but there was
no flapping of wings and very little "wake". The pace
told on it at length and just as [omitted: it] had almost
gained the shore I got sufficiently near to deal it
a hurried blow with the paddle when instantly to
my nostrils came the unmistakeable foetid odor of
a Weasel. It proved to belong to our smaller species
as I made out to my entire satisfaction a moment
later when, after recovering partially from my blow,
it climbed out on a lily pad and faced me at
barely arm's length. I teased it a little to see if
it could be made to dive which it would not do
and then left it to make the best of its way to
land which it accomplished with much noisy
plashing before I was out of hearing. Poor thing! I was
sorry to have used it so roughly but there was no
other way of finding out what it was.