58 
MAMMALIA. 
him at once, and as he did so the rat raised on his hind legs, let- 
ting his fore paws hang helplessly over his breast, and squealed 
piteously. Not only did he show no disposition to fight, but offered 
no resistance whatever, and did not even attempt to defend himself 
when molested. The Weasel did not seize him at first, but cuffed 
him with his fore paws and drove him from one corner of the cage to 
another, glaring at him continuously. Then, with a sudden move, he 
sprang upon his victim, already paralyzed with fear, laid open the 
back of his head with a single bite, ate the brains, and left the quiver- 
inof carcass untouched. 
o 
The Ermine hunts both by day and by night, and climbs trees with 
great ease and celerity. I have often “ treed ’’ them myself by run- 
ning after them in the woods, and have also seen them chase chip- 
munks up trees. Twice have I seen them run up the smooth trunks 
of the beech. They are not very timid and will allow a near ap- 
proach before taking fright. 
The much lamented Robert Kennicott, whose untimely death on 
the icy shores of the Yukon* deprived the world, prematurely, of one 
of her most indefatigable and conscientious naturalists, gave us such an 
interesting and truthful account of the habits ol this species, that I 
take pleasure in reproducing brief portions of it here. He said : “A 
more fierce and cruel mammal does not exist in America than this 
little Weasel. The courage and sanguinary disposition of the pan- 
ther are insignificant in comparison, having regard to the strength of 
the two. Without hesitation, the Weasel attacks animals five or ten 
times its own size; and, not content with killing enough for food, 
wantonly destroys whatever life it can When a Weasel has 
gained access to a poultry -yard, it will frequently kill every fowl with- 
in its reach in a single visit. . . . Fortunately, however, this animal, 
even when abundant, does not enter the farm-yard so frequently as 
might be expected, appearing to prefer a free life in the woods to 
* Mr. Kennicott died of heart disease, May 13, 1866, aged thirty. (Dali’s Alaska, 1870, p. 70.) 
