Anecdotes of the Habits and Instinct of Animals Part 9

CATS.

Cats are diminished examples of the feline race; but their fur is longer than that of others, and they bear a greater resemblance to leopards than to lions. The idea of majesty is not connected with them, but they are celebrated for grace, elegance, suppleness, and insidiousness. There is yet a wild species in existence, which inhabits the mountainous and wooded districts of the northern part of England, and also Scotland, where it used formerly to be very abundant. It is scarcely necessary to give a description, even of the untamed species, so well known are the general characters of these animals. It will be quite sufficient to say, that the head of the latter is triangular, the soles of the feet of the male are always black, their tails are bushy, they spring furiously upon whoever approaches, and utter unearthly cries. Mr. St. John, when walking up to his knees in heather, over broken ground, came suddenly upon a wild cat. She rushed out between his legs, every hair standing up. He cut a good sized stick; and three Skye terriers gave chase till she took refuge in a corner, spitting and growling. On trying to dislodge her, she flew at Mr. St. John's face, over the dog's heads; but he struck her while in the air, and she fell among the dogs, who soon dispatched her, even though they say, that a wild-cat has twelve instead of nine lives. If one be taken, those in the neighbourhood are sure to be also secured, as they will all, in the manner of foxes, a.s.semble round the body of their relation.

Domestic cats often run away to the woods and subsist on their own hunting; but these are not to be taken for the real wild cat. The female of the latter is the smaller of the two, and retires into the fissures of rocks, or takes possession of some large bird's nest, when she is about to have young ones. They are found all through Germany, Russia, Hungary, and the North of Asia, where their fur is much more valued than it is here, probably on account of the length and quality of the hair.

Our house cats are, by most naturalists, supposed not to have descended from the above wild species. Professor Temminck ascribes their origin to the Nubian cat, found in that country by M. Ruppell, but Mr. Bell differs from him.

Cats were numerous in Egypt, where they were much prized, and honoured with being embalmed. In Abyssinia they form part of a marriage dowry, for fear the mice should eat up the other portions. Nevertheless, it will be perhaps more like the truth if we give our cats an Asiatic origin. When they run wild, Mr. St. John says, they are often irreclaimable, and do incredible mischief. There are instances, however, of their returning to their homes bringing game with them. One known to the above gentleman, used every winter evening to bring in a woodc.o.c.k; another brought back rabbits and hares; the latter was constantly caught in traps, which accident did not cure him of his wanderings, and he never struggled, but sat quietly till some one came and effected his release.

All cats sleep slightly, raise their back, bristle up their hair, and swell up their tail when angry. Those which have been domesticated are very inquisitive concerning things rather than persons; smell, and inspect a new piece of furniture several times; are attached to houses, and are extremely fond of scents, especially certain kinds emanating from plants. They seldom eat the rats which they kill, although they devour mice. If they should swallow a shrew, which is very rare, they almost immediately reject it. They will sit hour after hour watching at the mouth of a hole, and after seizing their prey, bring it to their favourites in the house to show their prowess, and strut about with a great air of self-satisfaction. They generally have a great dislike to water; but they have been known to surmount this when they could catch a fish, for which species of food they have a great preference. The accusation that they play with you one minute, and scratch you the next, is too true: the change is not an act of treachery, but arises from excitement.

I know not whence it is derived; but for centuries cats have been connected with superst.i.tion and sorcery. They have always been regarded as attendants upon witches; and witches themselves have been said to borrow their shapes when on their mysterious expeditions. I was once told, that Lord Cochrane was accompanied by a favourite black cat in a cruise through the northern seas. The weather had been most unpropitious; no day had pa.s.sed without some untoward circ.u.mstance, and the sailors were not slow in attributing the whole to the influence of the black cat on board. This came to Lord Cochrane's ears, and knowing that any attempt to reason his men out of so absurd a notion was perfectly useless, he offered to sacrifice this object of his regard, and have her thrown overboard. This, however, far from creating any satisfaction, only alarmed the men still more; they were sure that the tempests she would then raise would be much worse than any they had yet encountered; and they implored his lords.h.i.+p to let her remain unmolested. "There was no help, and they could only hope, if she were not affronted, they might, at the end of their time, reach England in safety."

Black cats were always more especially connected with superst.i.tious feelings, and I was once accosted by a peasant's wife, who, with a phial in her hand to contain it, requested I would give her a few drops of blood from the tail of my black kitten; not only to bring luck to her hearth, but to keep pestilence from her doors. Even lately, a working woman told me not to turn a stray black cat from my house; for, if I did, I should never have any prosperity afterwards. Captain Brown tells us that on Hallowe'en, it was usual in Scotland for families to tie up their cat, in order to preserve it from being used as a pony by the witches that night. Those who neglected this precaution, ran the risk of seeing their cat scampering through the fields, with a witch on its back, on the high road to Norway. A black cat was commonly sacrificed by the ancients to Hecate, or among the Scandinavians to Frea, the northern Hecate. A black cat, sent with a prayer-book and a bag of sand into a new house, so as to precede the proprietor in possession, was formerly deemed essential to ensure prosperity to the person changing his abode.

To steal a black cat, and bury it alive, is in the Irish Highlands, considered as a specific for a disorder in cattle, termed "blacklegs,"

which otherwise proves fatal.

There is yet another peculiar feeling respecting cats--namely, the strange antipathy which some persons entertain towards them, and is equally una.s.sailable with that of superst.i.tion. Of course, in many instances, illness and weak indulgence, have greatly increased it, but in some cases, it has been, unconsciously harboured, and in others unconquerable. A friend of mine told me, that through life this feeling had accompanied him, in spite of every endeavour made to eradicate it.

When a little boy he awoke one night, with that trembling and cold perspiration which always a.s.sailed him when a cat was in his vicinity; and, screaming for help, he intreated the servant who entered to take away the cat which was in the room. The man searched, but found no traces of puss. His young master still persisted she was there, but a renewed search proved equally unavailing, nor could he compose himself to rest unless the servant remained in the room till he was asleep. This accomplished, the man left him, and a second time my friend awoke in the same manner, with the same appeals for a.s.sistance. They were obeyed; he himself joined in the search, and he dragged out a cat from the close stove (for it was in Germany) which had taken refuge there, and been wholly unperceived by the man servant. This gentleman's daughter inherited the same antipathy, and neither the tenderest feelings towards other "dumb creatures," or the strongest efforts of a mind of unusual strength, could subdue the uncomfortable and distressing sensation which thrilled through her when a cat was in her presence.

Where every house has a cat, many two, where every female cat, at least twice in each year, brings forth a litter of from three to five kittens, which are not all drowned, some idea may be formed of the untellable number of cats in London; but it is only the dwellers in what is called a quiet out-of-the-way street in the metropolis, who can form any notion of the noise and caterwaulings of this part of the population. All cats, on first taking possession with their owners, of a house, are obliged to enter into an alliance, offensive and defensive, with the older inhabitants of the neighbourhood. In some instances the amicable arrangements, though less noisy, are the most troublesome, of which I was convinced in one of my dwellings. The back overlooked a number of gardens, some of which were large, and to enjoy these sufficiently, a small, leaded terrace was thrown out from the back drawing-room window.

Here all the cats of all the gardens, the street, and the opposite square, used to hold their _conversazione_; and I presume, that my cats were particularly amiable, for often, if the drawing-room window had been left open during our absence, we found a select few, perhaps five or six, sitting within its precincts, as if in friendly talk.

Every cat that comes to a new area in London, appears to me to be obliged to fight till he gains undisturbed possession of it; at least so it has been the case with my cats. A very fine, bold, powerful tabby, did this twice with perfect success; but after repeated combats, although victorious, the struggle made him fierce and occasionally sullen. Another who was a very beautiful creature, but much weaker, used to come in with his handsome ears slit, his cheeks swollen, his fur torn off, his frolic and vivacity gone; and he sat crouching by the fire all day. At night he was roused by the fierce defiance of his enemies; and the contest continued till he died from his exertions.

One cat belonging to me had a curious manner of shewing her disappointment or anger, whichever it might be; for the instant she was affronted, she walked away and seated herself with her back to the offending parties. A child of hers was an instance of the effect of judicious education, for fair and gentle treatment transformed her, from a violent, outrageous kitten, to a well behaved cat, and it was curious to see the instantaneous effect which the voice of his preceptress produced. Cats will learn all sorts of antics, and form all sorts of contradictory attachments; young birds, puppies, rats and mice frequently being the objects. My mother-in-law had both a favourite canary and an equally beloved cat; the former lived in her bed room; and when alone, she suffered him to fly about the room, for she could there exclude the latter. Chance, however, discovered that puss was as fond of the canary as she was; and, to her surprise, on raising her head from her work one morning, she saw the bird perched upon the cat's body, without fear, and the cat evidently delighted. After that there was no further restraint, and the two pets were daily companions. Their mistress, however, received another fright; for Puss gave a slight growl, and seizing the bird in her mouth, leaped on to the bed; her tail swelled out, her hair erect, and her eyes as big as four. The bird was of course given up for lost: but the door being accidentally left open, a strange cat had come in; and it was for the preservation of the bird, that the cat had seized him, and as soon as the intruder was driven away, she set the prisoner at liberty. Cats have often been trained to act as game-finders, without offering the slightest damage to their capture; they have given the alarm when thieves have been breaking in; and manifested great proofs of reflection and thought, which may be called reason, without degrading this act of the intellect. One belonging to my sister invariably goes to her room when she rings her bell; but does not offer to stir when any other bell in the house is sounded. Another, in the service of a friend, was in the habit of going into the garden, catching a bird, and bringing it to the cook, appearing to ask her to dress it; and yet it was perfectly her own suggestion.

A brother of mine had a favourite tortoise-sh.e.l.l cat, named Monkey, who always sat on his shoulder when he was shaving, and evinced every sign of deep attachment. He left her under the care of some friends when he went abroad; and, two years after, these ladies were surprised the evening he was expected home, at the extreme restlessness of the animal.

She heard the arrival of the carriage at the garden gate before they did; and ere the bell was rung, she was furious to be let out to meet him. Her joy was indescribable; and the next morning she took her place on his shoulder as usual, when she saw him prepare his razor. Such attachments have been known to continue after death; and cats have died of grief on their master's grave.

I have already noticed a great friends.h.i.+p between a pug dog and a cat; and the following proof of a similar strength of love is taken from the pages of M. Wenzel, in his "Observations on the Language of Brutes." "I had a cat and a dog, which became so attached to each other, that they would never willingly be asunder. Whenever the dog got any choice morsel of food, he was sure to divide it with his whiskered friend. They always ate socially out of one plate, slept in the same bed, and daily walked out together. Wis.h.i.+ng to put this apparently sincere friends.h.i.+p to the proof, I one day, took the cat by herself into my room, while I had the dog kept in another apartment. I entertained the cat in a most sumptuous manner; being desirous to see what sort of meal she would make without her friend, who had been hitherto her constant table companion. The cat enjoyed the treat, and seemed entirely to have forgotten the dog. I had had a partridge for dinner, half of which I intended to keep for supper.

My wife covered it with a plate, and put it into a cupboard, the door of which she did not lock. The cat left the room, and I walked out on business; my wife meanwhile sat at work in an adjoining apartment. When I returned home, she related to me the following circ.u.mstances:--The cat having hastily left the dining-room, went to the dog, and mewed unusually loudly, and in different tones; which the dog, from time to time, answered with a short bark. They went together to the door of the room where the cat had dined, and waited till it was opened. The two friends then immediately entered the apartment. My wife rose from her seat, went softly to the door which stood ajar, to observe what was going on. The cat led the dog to the cupboard which contained the partridge, pushed off the plate which covered it, and taking out my intended supper, laid it before her canine friend, who devoured it quickly."

The following anecdote almost places the cat on a level with the dog:--"A physician of Lyons was requested to inquire into a murder that had been committed on a woman of that city. In consequence of this request, he went to the habitation of the deceased, where he found her extended lifeless on the floor, weltering in her blood. A large white cat was mounted on the cornice of a cupboard, at the far end of the apartment, where he seemed to have taken refuge. He sat motionless with his eyes fixed on the corpse, and his att.i.tude and looks expressing horror and affright. The following morning he was found in the same station and att.i.tude, and when the room was filled with officers of justice, neither the clattering of the soldier's arms, nor the loud conversation of the company, could in the least degree divert his attention. As soon, however, as the suspected persons were brought in, his eyes glared with increased fury, his hair bristled, he darted into the middle of the apartment, where he stopped for a moment to gaze at them, and then precipitately retreated under the bed. The countenances of the a.s.sa.s.sins were disconcerted, and they were now, for the first time, abandoned by their audacious atrocity."

There are several instances on record of cats finding their way back to their former abodes under circ.u.mstances of great difficulty, and the following appears to me to be one of the most striking of them, and quoted from a letter:--"When living at Four Paths, Clarendon, Jamaica, I wanted a cat, and had one given to me, which was nearly full grown; it was brought from Morgan's Valley Estate, where it was bred, and had never been removed from that place before. The distance was five miles.

It was put into a canva.s.s bag, and carried by a man on horseback.

Between the two places there are two rivers, one of them about eighty feet broad and two feet and a half deep, running strong; the other is wider and more rapid, but less deep; over these rivers are no bridges.

The cat was shut up at Four Paths for some days, and when considered to be reconciled to her new dwelling, she was allowed to go about the house. The day after obtaining her liberty, she was missing; and, upon my next visiting the estate she was brought from, I was quite amazed to learn that the cat had come back again. Did she swim over the rivers at the fords where the horse came through with her, or did she ascend the banks for a considerable distance, in search of a more shallow place, and where the stream was less powerful? At all events she must have crossed the rivers, in opposition to her natural habits."

A singular malformation in the cat has been perpetuated, till a race of tailless cats is now in existence, and which is certainly no improvement on the original stock; for nothing can be more graceful than the att.i.tudes of the cat's tail, or more expressive of its feelings of joy or anger.

SQUIRRELS.

A peculiar formation of the incisors, or front teeth, groups a number of smaller animals together under the name of Rodentia, from the Latin word _rodens_, which signifies gnawing. These teeth act as files, so that the food on which their owners princ.i.p.ally live is reduced by friction to a state which fits it for digestion. As the edges of these teeth become worn by constant use, they incessantly grow from the root.

If one be broken, that opposite to it, in the other jaw, being deprived of its habitual wear and tear, grows so fast that it not only annoys its owner, but has caused his destruction by effectually closing the mouth.

Their lower jaws can only move backwards and forwards; some exclusively eat vegetables, others eat all things, and others again prefer flesh.

Some carry their food to their mouths with their paws, and climb trees; and, in many, the hinder limbs are so much longer than those in front, that they leap instead of walk. They are widely and numerously spread on the surface of the earth, and therefore bear strongly on its history; but it is not among them that we find the high intellectual development with which many other animals are gifted.

Squirrels are some of the most beautiful of the Rodentia, and chiefly live in trees. The fur of some of the species is extremely beautiful and valuable; they are very active, elegant little creatures, and easily tamed, when they become very playful and affectionate. A friend of mine was deprived of her only daughter, and the lost one's pet squirrel was of course cherished and loved; the little creature used to run up the lady's arm, and seat itself on her shoulder, caress her with its head, nestle itself into her neck, and drink her tears. As long as it lived, it was never caressed by the mother without first looking in her face for the drops, which it had been accustomed to remove.

These animals have a large bushy tail, the hair of which spreads out on each side like a feather; and by it they are guided and supported when they leap. The flying squirrels, as they are called, have an expansion of the skin of the sides, which extends between the hind and fore legs, by which they are suspended in the air when pa.s.sing from tree to tree, and by it are enabled to go to greater distances without being actually able to fly, as their name would imply. The general colour of the English squirrel is red in summer; but in winter they often a.s.sume a grayish tint, at which time they have long pencils of hair at the top of their ears. This grey becomes more decided in more northern climates; and occasionally they are black. They always live in pairs, and sometimes are gregarious, inhabiting burrows. They lay up stores of provisions in different places; but they sleep the greater part of the cold months, their tail turned over them to keep them warm, having beforehand made a very elaborate nest of moss, leaves, and interlacing fibres in the hole of a tree, or the fork of two branches. They exclusively eat vegetable food, and are occasionally themselves eaten by the larger birds of prey.

Sir Francis Head gives us the following account of his meeting with a squirrel in Canada. "I was waiting the approach of a large flock of wild fowl; but a little villain of a squirrel on the bough of a tree close to me, seemed to have determined that even now I should not rest in quiet; for he sputtered and chattered with so much vehemence, that he attracted the attention of my dog. This was truly mortifying; for he kept his eyes fixed on the squirrel. With my hand I threatened the little beast; but he actually set up his back and defied me, becoming even more pa.s.sionate than before; till, all of a sudden, as if purposely to alarm the game, he dropped plump within a couple of yards of Rover's nose. This was too much for the latter to bear, so he gave a bounce and sprang upon the impertinent squirrel; who, in a second, was out of his reach, c.o.c.king his tail and shewing his teeth, on the identical bough where he had sat before. Away flew all the wild fowl, and my sport was completely marred.

My gun went involuntarily to my shoulder to shoot the squirrel; but I felt I was about to commit an act of sheer revenge on a courageous little animal, which deserved a better fate. As if aware of my hesitation, he nodded his head with rage, and stamped his fore paws on the tree; while in his chirruping, there was an intonation of sound, which seemed like contempt. What business had I there trespa.s.sing on his domain, and frightening his wife and little family, for whom he was ready to lay down his life? There he would sit in spite of me, and make my ears ring with the sound of his woo-whoop, till the spring of life should cease to bubble in his little heart."

It is from Captain Brown's pages that I extract the following. "A gentleman procured a squirrel from a nest, found at Woodhouse, near Edinburgh, which he reared and rendered extremely docile. It was kept in a box below an aperture, where was suspended a rope, by which the animal ascended and descended. The little creature used to watch very narrowly all its master's movements; and, whenever he was preparing to go out, it ran up his legs, and entered his pocket, from whence it would peep out at pa.s.sengers as he walked along the streets, never venturing however to go out.

"But no sooner would he reach the outskirts of the city, than the squirrel leaped on the ground, ran along the road, ascended to the tops of trees and hedges with the quickness of lightning, and nibbled at the leaves and bark; and, if the gentleman walked on, it would descend, scamper after him, and again enter his pocket. Whenever it heard a carriage or cart, it became much alarmed, and always hid itself till they had pa.s.sed by. This gentleman had a dog, between which and the squirrel, a certain enmity existed. Whenever the dog lay asleep, the squirrel showed its teasing disposition by rapidly descending from its box, scampering over the dog's body, and then quickly mounting its rope."

RATS.

Some persons profess to think that the Rodents called Rats are beautiful animals; and I presume that, prejudice apart, the sleek skin, the sharp head, the long, slender tail, and the keen look of their bright black eyes, ought to be attractions; but those who have been annoyed with these animals as I have been, can scarcely regard them with anything but dislike. Overspreading the whole world as they do, it is no wonder, where they are not vigorously checked, and where food is abundant, their numbers should amount to something frightful. On a visit to Sierra Leone, I was all day at the Government House, and going to an upper room to make my toilette, I heard a pattering of little feet close to me, and turning my head I saw between the floor and the shrunken door of the next apartment, a whole army of rats on a peregrination, and giving such an idea of number, that, uninitiated as I then was (it being on my first journey to Africa), I was perfectly appalled, and most thankful that I returned that night to sleep in my safer cabin on board s.h.i.+p.

This, however, was but the beginning; and, in the next vessel which I entered, they were so numerous, that the next time she returned to port, she was sunk for a time, as the only means of getting rid of them.

Between these creatures and the c.o.c.kroaches, I thought my poor child and myself must be devoured.

There is a facility given to the human mind to accommodate itself to all circ.u.mstances, for which perhaps we are not sufficiently thankful; and it never was more strongly manifested than in my own case, for both fear and apprehension vanished with habit, and I became fearless of those animated creatures which at first seemed to be the bane of my existence.

When living in Cape Coast Castle, I used to see the rats come in troops past my door, walking over my black boys as they lay there, and who only turned themselves over to present the other sides of their faces and bodies, when the rats returned--and thought it a good joke. The fiercest encounter which I ever had with them was during one of those terrific storms, which are more furious between the tropics than elsewhere. I was then, however, under the Equator, in a native hut, and heard an exceeding rustling and movement all around me. To my terror, I perceived that these proceeded from a number of rats running up and down the sides of the room in which I was to pa.s.s the night, and who shortly began to run over me; they being disturbed by the torrents of rain which were then falling. The only weapon I could find was a shoe, and curling myself into a large armchair, taken out of a French vessel, and covered with blue satin damask, I sat prepared for my enemies, whom I dreaded much more than the lightning, which was flas.h.i.+ng across the iron bars laid upon the floor. I felt that the silk of my place of refuge was some sort of protection against this; but my own arm could alone save me from my four-footed foes. Presently my husband came in, and saluted me with a shout of laughter, which, however, abated when he saw my antagonists.

The storm lulled for a while, and the rats retreated: we then crept within the curtains of bamboo cloth, which encircled a rude imitation of a four-post bedstead, but I kept possession of my shoe. Weary with watching, I closed my eyes, but was awakened by a tremendous flash of lightning, immediately followed by awful thunder and a tumultuous rush of rats. Some of them scrambled up the outside of the curtains; but arms in hand I sat up, and directed by the noise, I hurled the invaders to the ground, till at length resistance, and the pa.s.sing away of the storm allowed me to sleep in peace.

These were the brown rats which infest every part of the world, but very much increased in size by their residence in a hot climate.

Besides these brown rats, a bush rat, as it is called, infests the forests, and is about as large as a young pig. When I first saw this, and felt myself surrounded as it were, by familiar animals increased to such magnitude, by mult.i.tudes previously unknown to me, and others of which I had only heard, and yet none of us were devoured, I could not but feel with tenfold depth the Creator's command, that man should have the dominion over them all. His own strength alone could never enable him to walk among them unharmed.

The princ.i.p.al characters which distinguish the rat remain in all countries, but there are several species. The black rat is that which first inhabited this island; but it has been nearly driven out by the brown, which is, without any foundation, termed the Norway rat. It came from India, Persia, etc., and is said to have appeared in Europe after a great earthquake in 1727. All are so eminently carnivorous, that they do not make the least ceremony of devouring each other in times of scarcity; so that on one occasion, already spoken of, when I and my companions stood a chance of being starved ourselves, we felt sure that the violent screams and struggles we heard going on among the rats behind the planks, arose from the meals which the strong were making upon their more feeble brethren.

Rats are nocturnal in their habits, and like to live in subterranean, or mysterious abodes. They are found in islands lying in the midst of the ocean, till the moment of their discovery to us, supposed not to have been visited by man, and yet the question still remains unsettled, whether the differences which exist in rats were caused by locality, or whether they were so from the beginning. There is now no known spot free from the Norway rat, and the greater the number, of course the more impudent they become. In Ceylon, I am told, where they are innumerable, they perch on the top of a chair, or screen, and sit there till something is thrown at them, at which they slowly retreat. A noise is heard in the verandah close by you, and you see a party of rats, disputing with a dog for the possession of some object. A traveller in Ceylon saw his dogs set upon a rat, and making them relinquish it, he took it up by the tail, the dogs leaping after it the whole time; he carried it into his dining-room, to examine it there by the light of the lamp, during the whole of which period it remained as if it were dead; limbs hanging, and not a muscle moving. After five minutes he threw it among the dogs, who were still in a state of great excitement; and to the astonishment of all present, it suddenly jumped upon its legs, and ran away so fast that it baffled all its pursuers.

One evening, when at Bathurst, St. Mary's, I was sitting at work in an upper room, and in the midst of the stillness, heard somewhat breathing close to me. There was no other person in the chamber except my child, who was asleep in bed. Although startled, I did not move, but casting my eyes round I saw a huge rat, sitting upon the table at my elbow, watching every movement of my fingers. I could scarcely help laughing at his cool impudence, and suppose I had been too much absorbed by thought, or employment, to notice his approach. I gradually laid down my work, and slipping quietly out of the room, as if I had not perceived him, called the servants. It was supposed that there were nests of rats in the chimney; for that Government House had been wisely provided with the possibility of having fires in the rooms during the rainy season; and the hunt began. I jumped on to the bed, not only to be out of the way, but to keep the rats from the place where my child was. Two of the men, furnished with sticks, routed the enemy from their hiding-places, and four others squatted at the corners of the room, holding a cloth spread between their hands. They said it was most likely the rats would run round the walls, and they should therefore catch them in the open cloth.

The event proved them to be right; the frightened animals rushed to them, were immediately enclosed, and their necks were wrung in a moment.

After the hunt was ended, they were thrown over the verandah into the garden, to the number of at least fifty. In the morning, however, they were all gone, but the footmarks of the Genet cats told how they had been removed. Some squeaks the next day in the chimney betrayed the presence of some very young ones, and a fire of damp gra.s.s being lighted, their destruction was completed by suffocation. This was perhaps cruel, but it was necessary in self-defence; and I shuddered to think of how I and my daughter might, in our sleep, have been attacked by these animals. It is not to be wondered at, when surrounded by myriads of obnoxious animals, how any tender feelings towards that part of creation become blunted. At the moment of which I speak, valuable books, dried plants, papers containing the data of scientific observations, concerning the survey of the river Gambia to a considerable distance, were destroyed during the illness of the observer, by rats and insects.

[Ill.u.s.tration: LEADING THE BLIND RAT.--Page 261.]

One afternoon, the commandant of Bathurst was quietly reading, when he heard a violent squeaking and hissing in the room below him, which was even with the ground, and contained stores. He took the key, and followed by his servants armed with sticks, went to ascertain the cause.

On opening the door they beheld a rat and a venomous serpent engaged in mortal combat. Nothing could be more beautiful than the action of both animals; the rat had retreated for a moment, and stood with flas.h.i.+ng eyes; the head of the serpent was reared to receive a fresh attack; again and again they closed and separated, but the reptile, although much bitten, gained the victory; the rat fell, foamed at the mouth, swelled to a great size, and died in a very few minutes. The serpent glided away, but was afterwards discovered in her nest with several young ones, in a crack of the store-room wall, close to a staircase, which we were in the habit of descending daily, and where, in fact, I had often seen the serpents' heads peeping out, and had waited till they were withdrawn.

Of the brown rat Mr. Jesse tells the following story:--"The Rev. Mr.

Ferryman, walking out in some meadows one evening, observed a great number of rats in the act of migrating from one place to another, which it is known, they are in the habit of doing occasionally. He stood perfectly still, and the whole a.s.semblage pa.s.sed close to him. His astonishment, however, was great, when he saw an old blind rat, which held a piece of stick at one end in its mouth, while another rat had hold of the other end of it, and thus conducted his blind companion."