The Potter journal and news item. [volume] (Coudersport, Pa.) 1872-1874, 1873-08-13

some noisy, hshy-smelllng DrooB
tumbles among great, messy stones
shaded by dense hemlocks and yor
will very likely see one darting and
peeping about. Don't be afraid OF
soaring him; he won't run for you
he will stay about those stones as
long as he pleases in spite Of yon
Do your best to knock him over, and
how easily he will dodge your blows
But look out; the little fellow may
get mad after a while. If he does,
he will begin to scold, sharp in,
tense sound quickly repeated And
the more you strike at him the closer
he will contrive to get to you, dart,
ing and daring up nearer and nearer.
till, if you exasperate him too much,
he may make a leap for your wind
pipe, quick as a wink.
The body of the brown weasel will
be found to measure about eight
inches in length. The legs are quite
short, the neck long, the ears large
and open, the eyes small but bright,
and set in the head nearer the nose
than the ears. In summer, the color
is brown along the back and white
Under the limbs In winter, it is
white over every part Of the body
and limbs, with the exception Of the
tip of the tail, which is always black
! for half or three-fourths of an inch.
Draw out the tail and one Of the hind
legs straight; they will be found to
be of exactly the same length.
From what / have observed, | do
not think the weasel an animal that
ranges very much, not more than
the striped squirrel, at least. 1t has
its home or nest in piles of loose,
dry stones, ricks of wood and chips,
particularly in heaps of dry rubbish
near streams, brought by freshets
and lodged against stumps or in hol-
lows, sometimes in hollow trees and
PROSTATE limbs. 1t makes a very
COSY little nest for its Young, of
which it sometimes produces as many
as fifteen in a single season,-threc
litters of five each. | never found
less than four in q nest; generally,
there are five. Circumstances may
restrict the number of litters to two.
or even one. Three, however, seems
to be the usual number.
No bear or cougar ever defends its
whelps with one half the courage
shown by this little creature when
any one comes upon its nest. ! have
often been obliged to back hastily
off to avoid a bite on the leg, or q
smart chance of being throttled. A
person not acquainted with weasel
grit would laugh at this: but, really,
l had far rather take my chance III q
fair fight with a bear than with three
weasels, little as they are.
Some years ago, while fishing in
company with a boy friend slong
the bank Of large brook, we acct
dentally stumbled on the burrows of
several weasels. The first we saw
of them, they were dodging and dart
ing about us, making their low, scOld-
ing noise. There were four of them,
but whether two pairs had their nest
in the same place or not, | cannot
state. We began to strike at them
with our fish-poles to drive them off;
but the more we struck the more
they wouldn't go away; till, the con-
flict waxing hot, they would actual
ly jump up three or four feet against
our jackets in their attempts to get
to our throats. We were obliged to
run; and the resolute little warriors
chased us some rods.
A neighbor also tells me, that GO
ing along beside one Of his double
walls" one morning, he happened to
espy three weasels coming toward
him on the wall (retuning to their
burrow from some nocturnal foray,
perhaps). He knew their temper
and thinking to have some fun, ran
back to where the double wall mar
rowed into "single wall" and as
they came along tried to stop them
with his goad-stick. lie succeeded
in keeping them back for a number
Of minutes. But erelong "they got
so mad, :" as he said and came at him
so hot, that he was glad to stand
back and let them pass.
And l have heard the story of a
little girl, who, in going to school,
had to cross a pasture. One night
she failed to come home at the usual
time and after waiting awhile, her
mother started out to meet her.