LEMMING RAT. 79 



if it had been ploughed ; the grass being devoured 

 to the very roots, in numerous stripes, or parallel 

 paths, of one or two spans broad, and at the dis- 

 tance of some ells from each other. This army of 

 mice moves chiefly by night, or early in the morn- 

 ing, devouring the herbage as it passes, in such a 

 mannei' that the surface appears as if burnt. No 

 obstacles which they happen to meet in their way 

 have any effect in altering their route ; neither 

 fires, nor deep ravines, nor torrents, nor marshes, 

 or lakes : they proceed obstinately in a strait line ; 

 and hence it happens that many thousands perish 

 in the waters, and are found dead by the shores. 

 If a rick of hay or corn occurs in their passage, 

 they eat through it ; but if rocks intervene, which 

 they cannot pass, they go round, and then re- 

 sume their former strait direction. If disturbed 

 or pursued while swimming over a lake, and their 

 phalanx separated by oars or poles, they will not 

 recede, but keep swimming directly on, and soon 

 get into regular order again ; and have even been 

 sometimes known to endeavour to board or pass 

 over a vessel. On their passage over land, if at- 

 tacked by men, they will raise themselves up, ut- 

 tering a kind of barking sound, and fly at the 

 legs of their invadeis, and will fasten so fiercely 

 at the end of a stick, as to suffer themselves to 

 be sM^mg about before they will quit their hold ; 

 and are with great difficulty put to flight. It is 

 said that an intestine war sometimes takes place 

 in these armies during their migrations, and that 

 the animals thus destroy each other. 



