The Yellowstone journal., 1894-10-12
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ABOUT THE WEASEL.
a Graceful Little Creature, Full of Shy
ness, Shrewdness and Cruelty.

-
ness, Shrewdness and Cruelty.
The weasel is one of the prettiest and
most graceful creatures that can be
imagined. 1t lives ia gii cool countries
and makes its home in hollow trees in
stone heaps or i'll any convenient hole
where it can find shelter.
1t is no larger than good sized rat,
but has longer legs 1t has long, 1.-the,
slender body, long neck and dainty lit
tie head, with small, smooth. sleek hail
of a brown color ON its back and white
below 1t has long whiskers on its nose
and very short tail. les weapons are
its strong claws and sharp tee Il, which
il knows how to use so Well mat many
larger animals live in constant terror OF
it. The weasel itself has very few enc
mics. Even the powerful birds of prey,
which are ever on the alert for rabbits
and other small game, rarely swoop
down on the weasel, for, although they
can easily carry it away in their strong
talons, it often proves very troublesome
booty. A hunter once noticed hawk,
high in the air, which was Tapping its
wings violently and apparently in great
trouble Suddenly IL darted and fell to
the earth almost at the hunters feet,
where it lay gasping and dying, while
Q tiny weasel sprang from the heap of
feathers and scampered away TO hide it.
self i'll the stone wall near by. On
examining the bird the hunter found
that its throat was torn e. pieces by the
weasel's sharp teeth. he little crea-
.l.l L. III. 81
powerful grip of the ha K, had twisted
itself until it could ach the hawks
throat, when il easily Inflicted deadly
wound
The defenseleSs hu = and rabbits are
bitterly persscuted b the weasel, which
springs upon"them, nd with wonderful
instinct knows CXgr ~ where 10 fasten
its sharp teeth. Tie unfortunate hare
may scamper away rs fast as il can, but
its enemy clings 20 its neck, and the
poor little animal must soon fall, faint
and dying, from loss Of blood.
Rats and mice. squirrels. moles, frogs
and birds of all kinds are hunted by the
weasel, and it may often be seen twist
ing itself in and ont of stone heaps or
walls in the vicinity of barnyarts, where
it watches for chickens, doves and other
domestic fowls.
If taken very young, weasels may be
tanned, and whole army of cats will
not free a house so quickly of rats and
mice as will one little weasel. Pussy
must sit patiently by the rats hole and
wait until the mischievous beast ven
lures forth, but where a rat can 60 the
weasel can follow Weasels and ferTets
are often kept on board Of ships and are
petted by the sailors, for a ship with
weasel as passenger is free from rats. :.
There are many pretty stories told Of
tame weasels and of the affection they
manifest toward those who care for
them A lady who received a present
of very small and very young weasel
fed it with milk, which it drank from
her hand. The little creature became SO
attached To irs mistress that whenever
she called it it would instantly appear
from whatever corner in which il was
curled up and would climb all over her
like "a squirrel 1t never biz her and
would play with her cat and dog, often
riding around on their backs, but il
never injured them. Its curiosity af
forded its mistress much amusement. If
she opened a box or trunk, Master
Weasel would raise himself on his hind
legs and make an effort to peep inside.
This little creature Is much hunted
by man, and large numbers are caught
in traps, it being general impression
that they do more harm than good, but
although weasel may now and then
Garry off chicken from the farmyard it
does much more good by freeing barns
and cornfields of mice and other small
destructive animals. Troy Press.