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THE STOAT. 
Although tolerably swift of foot, it is entirely unable to cope with the great speed of the 
hare, an animal which frequently falls a victim to the Stoat. Yet it is enabled, by its great 
delicacy of scent and the singular endurance of its frame, to run down any hare on whose track 
it may have set itself, in spite of the long legs and wonderful speed of its prey. When pur- 
sued by a Stoat, the hare does not seem to put forward its strength as it does when it is 
followed by dogs, but as soon as it discovers the nature of its pursuer, seems to lose all energy, 
and hops lazily along as if its faculties were benumbed by some powerful agency. This strange 
lassitude, in whatever manner it may be produced, is of great service to the Stoat, in enabling 
it to secure an animal which might in a very few minutes place itself beyond the reach of 
danger, by running in a straight line. 
In this curious phenomenon, there are one or two points worthy of notice. 
Although the Stoat is physically less powerful than the hare, it yet is endowed with, and 
is conscious of, a moral superiority, which will at length attain its aim. The hare, on the 
other hand, is sensible of its weakness, and its instincts of conservation are much weaker than 
the destructive instinct of its pursuer. It must be conscious of its inferiority, or it would not 
run, but boldly face its enemy, for the hare is a fierce and determined fighter when it is 
matched against animals that are possessed of twenty times the muscular powers of the Stoat. 
But as soon as it has caught a glimpse of the fiery eyes of its persecutor, its faculties YU, and 
its senses become oppressed with that strange lethargy which is felt by many creatuies when 
they meet the fixed gaze of the serpent’s eye. A gentleman who once met with a dangerous 
adventure with a cobra, told me that the creature moved its head gently from side to side in 
front of his face, and that a strange and soothing influence began to creep over his sens 
depriving him of the power of motion, but at the same time removing all sense of fear. So the 
hare seems to be influenced by a similar feeling, and to be enticed as it were to its fate, the 
senses of fear and pain benumbed, and the mere animal faculties surviving, to be destroyed by 
the single bite. 
I have no doubt but that this phenomenon is nearly connected with the curious benumbing 
of the nerves, and the deprivation of fear which is recorded by Livingstone in his well-known 
account of his adventure with a lion, which is mentioned in this work. The preservative 
faculties of the hare are excited by the loud noisy dogs that make so violent an attack upon 
the hare, and which consequently makes use of all her muscular and intellectual powers to 
escape from them. But the silent, soft-footed, gliding Stoat steals quietly on its victim 
without alarming it by violent demonstrations, soothes it to its death and kills it daintily. 
Be it noticed that there are human types of the Stoat, or rather that the visible animal is 
but an outward emblem of the inward nature. 
If in the course of the chase, the hunted animal should cross a stream, the Stoat will do 
the same, although, when it is engaged in the pursuit of water-voles, it seldom ventures to 
follow them into an element where they are more at their ease than their pursuer. Still, 
although it may not choose to match itself against so accomplished a swimmer and diver as 
the water-vole, it is no mean proficient in the natatory art. 
Mr. Thompson relates a curious instance of the prowess which is displayed by the Stoat 
in crossing a tolerably wide expanse of water. “A respectable farmer, when crossing in his 
boat over an arm of the sea, about one mile in breadth, observed a ripple proceeding from 
some animal in the water, and on rowing up, found that it was a Stoat which he had no doubt 
was swimming in a direct line from the shore, and it had reached the distance by a quarter of 
a mile when taken. The poor animal was cruelly killed, although its gallant swimming might 
have pleaded in favor of its life.” 
As to the food of the Stoat, the animal seems to be very easily contented in this respect, 
killing and eating almost any description of wild quadrupeds, birds, and reptiles. Of rabbits 
it is very fond, and kills great numbers of them, especially when they are young. 
A curious scene between a Stoat and rabbit was once witnessed in a forest. A piercing 
cry was heard among some underwood, from which issued a poor rabbit, bearing with it a 
Stoat, clinging to its neck. The Stoat, on finding that its actions were observed, quitted its 
prey and ran up a tree. One of the keepers, who witnessed the scene, had not his gun with 
