Morris tribune., 1899-09-30
THE WEASEL'S WAY,
A BATTLE TO THE DEATH WITH A
FOX TERRIER.

/
The Weasel's Home-His Friends and
His Enemies-A Competitor of the
Sportsmen-Some Moral Philosophy
Died q Hero.
AS | was hurrying down the path
past my neighbours house, at the edge
OF the rocky woods, this morning, j
heard commotion in the brush, and
an instant later saw rushing across
the road ahead of me pullet, closely
followed by weasel, the latter go
ing very easily as compared with the
chickens frantic haste. My neighbor
happened to be standing by his door
step, and, running forward to meet the
pair, stamped his foot upon the weasel,
just an instant after it had leaped up
on the poor hen, whose gray feathers
were already flying. The marauder's
first stroke had almost the deadly effect
! of charge of shot, and although the
pullet shrugged away into the shelter
of some vines, l suspect that she will
never get well.
Reaching down, my neighbor lifted
the weasel by the nape of it's neck, be-
tween his thumb and finger, and held
him out at arms length for us to view
AN image of impotent rage. His
head was like round wedge, his ears
lay fat back, his round, black eyes
glowing like jet beads, and the long
whiskered white lips, flecked with
blood were drawn back from jagged
row of needle-pointed, ivory-white teeth
in a snarl that portrayed prisoner
captured but not conquered. He writh-
ed and squirmed in the mans firm
grasp, trying his best to get his teeth
into the OBTAINING fingers, and did sue
coed in scratching them by means OF
a paw already red with blood from
the wounded pullet.
1t would be hard to make finer pic
ture of baff1ed fury than that little
creature exhibited. He knew he was
doomed, for he remembered other
chickens he had caught and killed,
and if he had acted like a coward, he
would simply have been drowned in
the horse trough or had his brains
dashed out on a@rock. But his bold
spirit against overwhelming odds-his
unquenchable courage-won him a bet
ter fate, and, calling his dog, my friend
gave the bandit chance for hero's
victory or death in honorable battle.
The little weasel, not One-twentieth
the weight of the big terrier, accepted
the challenge without breath of hest
tation The instant he was thrown
down before the dog, he faced it with
fur on end, and feet braced, and jaws
wide open-never a thought of run
ming away in his plucky little head.
The terrier rushed in only to have
the weasel leap straight at his open
mouth and fasten it's teeth in his nose.
This was disconcerting and the dog
squealed with surprise and pain, but
he also was courageous, and shaking
off his tormentor, seized him again
only to have him wriggle second time
out of his jaws, and make a valiant
effort to7escape. The dog darted after
him and got a new hold, but so did his
undaunted and pertinacious foe, and
Nip had to whirl the weasel round and
round his head, the animal hanging to
his torn lip by it's teeth, before he
could shake it loose and seize it's linn
Der body in an effective grip. And even
then, when crushed at last under
"major force the weasel lay at the
point of death among the bruised and
bloody weeds, an indomitable spirit
still glared in the black eyes; the sharp
teeth were barred as defantly as ever
in the face Of his big conqueror, and
he died like hero.