Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1895-04-05
The FEROCIOTS MOLE.
a Very Small Auimnl But n Great
Fighter.
IL Is Claimed by Zool"gi-ts That. Accord
Ing TO It's Size. This Underground
Worker Is tho No.i Savage
of the nuu.!rttp.,!>

Worker Is tho N",i >a,aS"
of tn" onairri...>.
What i the ti.., 49, animal in the
world asked a W.>hin ton star writer
CT a lo"l"-ri~.
The mole" hr r,rli.d y III are
surprised, hut such. in my opinion. u
the fact. People ordinarily lnnk upon
the mole a. 4 >lu r-i>h ana harmless
creature. srrndinr H. lilo in .-rpp.nr
biindly underground. y usual tn, pop
ular idea Is "a mistaken one. The mole
Is III reality the mos: fcrnciuu~ and
most active IF animals. llnariil,. it
marniird To the size If n tiger and Won
"ou.d have 4 more terrible beast than
the world has yet seen. Though with
dcfcct!v" powers of vision and there
FOR" incapable If following its prev hv
SIGHT II would he agile t..vund cuiir.p-
ton springing this way and that a. it
went along, leaping with lightning
qulcNnea> upon any creature which It
met. rrnding it 10 pieces in Il moment.
d"v"urlng the yet warm and hlc,r!iny
h'Sh and instantly liking. with hum
ger unsuitable. for Il fr'>h victim This
creature would. without hesitation. De-
YOUR a serpent twenty feet in length.
and so tremendous would h. it, v,,ra,.i.
~ that it would eat twenty or thirty
such snakes in thu cuursr of a ,iav
with one PraSpof its teeth and Il single
clutch of its claws ii could di>,mlrwrl
An OK, and if II should happen t. rntc,
foid Of sheep or an inclosurr IF cattle
1t would kill them all for the mere lust
OF slaughter.
Let two such animals meet and how
terrific would IL. the battle. Fear is q
feeling which the mole seems never &c
entertain. In conflict with an ativcr.
sary of its own kind its efforts are OK
clusivrly directed To injuring its OPP
ponent. without regard for its own pro
lection. An examination of the skel-
eton mole will repay Your trouble,
SO wonderful is its adaptation OF struc.
lure to its manner of life. It looks
like veritablc machine for digging
ana 1t has several accessory bones which
are not found in any other living beast.
being discovered only in certain fossil
forms.
The mole is gifted with incredible
ACTIVITY. 1t pursues the earth worms or
winch 1t chiefly feeds with an energy
that is untiring, and, when it has caught
one, 1T devours the prey like starving
tiger, rending it with its powerful
claws and teeth. Occasionally it will
capture bird and tear it into frag
ments, devouring eagerly the bleeding
flesh. During the latter part of june
MIR. Mole falls in love, and in his at
tachments he is as furious as in all other
phases of his nature. At that period he
cannot meet another male of his kline
without fighting, very often to the
death. He constructs bridal chamber
FOR his chosen spouse at the intersection
OF two OF his tunnels, SO that there il
more than one way of escape for her
self and the young ones in case danger
threatens. This chamber is partly
filled with dried grass for a couch, and
1t is always at some distance from Mr.,
Mole's dwelling proper.
1.-The subterranean dwelling of Mr.
Mole is a wonderful labyrinth. Nc
human being could very well find his
way about in it, supposing that its di.
mansions were sufficiently magnified te
admit his passage through the maze OF
tunnels. The latter compose a net
work as complicated as that of tn.
sewers of a metropolis. 1t must not be
imagined that the animal burrows AT
random. On the contrary. it works on
. well-defined system, though how il
forms its burrows in such admirably
straight lines, always laboring in the
hlackest darkness. is a mystery.
THE home OF the beast is in a hillocB
under the shelter Of some tree or bank,
90 as to be inconspicuous. Here is its
center of operations. from which regu.
lar roads lead of in different directions
TO its feeding grounds. If you dig into
the hillock you discover a very elab
crate and wonderful structure. The
nearly spherical chamber, around
which run two circular passages, one
on q level with the ceiling and the other
1T some height above. The upper circle
is much smaller than the lower one
Five short and nearly vertical passages
connect these galleries with each other
When Mr.. Mole enters his house from
one Of the tunnels he has first to get
into the lower gallery. thence to ascend
into the upper gallery and SO descend
into the chamber. However, there il
another entrance to the chamber from
below by . passage which dips down
ward from the middle of the spherical
room, then curving upward and finally
opening into one of the bigger tunnels
or highroads. OF these highroads there
are seven or eight
sowing to the peculiar habits of the
mole comparatively little is known
about the animal and his ways. The
use Of this labyrinth and complicated
system of tunnels, the latter usually
extending over, or rather under, very
great space of ground, is in some degrees
mystery. One object of the arrange
ment is doubtless that the owner in cas-.
of alarm shall be able to make hi.
escape. BY the continual pressure
the animals fur the walls of the cham
Der and passages are rendered smooth
hard and polished, SO that the roof vii
not fall in even after the most sever.
storm. The mole can swim excellently
and it often sinks wells for the purpos.
Of obtaining water to drink. In fact. i
possesses most varied accomplishments
and consider that in point of ferocity
activity and voracity it is superior eve,
70 the great cats of the tropics"