innocent sport. As we gained the crest of the hill, the melancholy cry
of the brown owl came to our ears; and Ianto said, "Philip is a big
vagabond--bigger than me, I think. No doubt he's fetched his nets from
the cave beneath the Crag, and is down at the river by now. Promise me,
sir, as you'll never go nigh that cave when he's alive. It's his secret
place, as only him and me knows anything about. He told me to ask you
that favour."
Long after both Ianto and Philip were dead, I happened one day, while in
the woods, to remember the incidents I have just related, and I made my
way to the foot of the Crag. I found no opening in the face of the rock,
except one--apparently a rabbit hole--near a rent in the boulder.
Climbing around the rock, however, I noticed that a large, flat stone
lay in a rather unexpected position on a narrow cleft. I removed it, and
saw that it covered the entrance to a dark hollow. At the same moment I
heard a slight rustle behind me, as some animal darted from the hole I
had previously examined. I scrambled down into the chamber, and there,
when my eyes had become accustomed to the darkness, I saw three tiny
fox-cubs huddled on the damp, mossy ground. As I knelt to stroke them
gently, and my hand rested for a moment on the floor beside them, I
touched the remains of an old, rotting net.
[Illustration: Decoration]
FOOTNOTES:
[1] In "Ianto the Fisherman, and Other Sketches of Country Life."
INDEX.
Animals, wild, awakening from hibernation, 146
----, ----, dislike rain, 428
----, ----, feet made tender by hibernation, 154
----, ----, habit of sociable, 160
----, ----, keeping to old haunts, 298
----, ----, selfishness of, 318
Ant, habits of queen, 156
----, habits of yellow, 65, 66
Autumn, bird-migration in, 12
Badger, and fox-hounds, 349
----, and stoat, 323
----, attempt to unearth, 367-373
----, fondness of, for honey, 335, 336, 345
----, food of, 305, 310-313, 324, 335
----, mocked by birds when abroad in daylight, 309
----, persecuted for supposed sheep-killing, 353-355
----, regular habits in returning to "set" at dawn, 350
----, sociability of, 332, 333
----, winter habits of, 340, 341
Badger-cub, and wasps, 337
----, caught in trap, 326, 327
Badger-cubs, at play, 301, 302, 346
----, closely confined by parents, 303
Badger-cubs, dying from distemper, 338
----, less nervous than fox-cubs, 321
Badgers, at play, 359
----, carrying bedding to "set," 361
----, reconnoitring before young leave "set," 415
----, sulking at home if suspicious of danger, 422
----, two families inhabiting same "set," 359
Bank-voles, and kestrel, 147
----, colony of, 147
Basset-hounds, described, 278
----, hunting with, 280-282
Bell, use of, hung round ram's neck, 18
Blood, significance of fresh-spilt, 75
Bob, the black-and-tan terrier, 55-62
Character, differences of, in animals of one species, 64
----, human, developed by independence of action, 23
Collie, sheep-killing, 354-356
Dabchick, oar-like wings of, 12
Ducks, wild, at play, 31
----, ----, wedge-shaped flight of, 32
"Earth," fox's artificial, 194
Fear, how it affects wild creatures, 401
Field-vole, and carrion crow, 165
----, and fox, 164
----, and kestrel, 148, 149
----, and owl, 144, 145, 157, 167, 175
----, and weasel, 137, 140
----, avoiding rabbit's "creeps," 160
----, enemies of, 164
----, food of, 137, 142, 143, 154, 155
----, hibernation of, 145, 146, 150
----, home of, 149
----, limbs of, cramped by winter sleep, 153
----, restlessness of, in spring, 157
Field-voles, described, 162
----, harvesting seeds, 141, 142
----, plague of, 173, 174
----, stung to death by adder, 172
Fox, see also _Vixen_
----, and hedgehog, 382-384
----, and moorhen, 400
----, and wasp, 229
----, avoiding traps, 236
----, burying rat, 184
----, careful not to sleep on straight trail, 237
----, careful not to tread on rustling leaves, 220
----, entering "breeding-earth" when close pressed, 191
----, finding hen's nest in hedgerow, 182
----, fight with rival, 227
----, hating jays and magpies, 234
----, knowledge of the countryside, 238, 428
----, luring rabbits, 403
----, methods of hunting rabbits, 180
----, robbed of spoil by vixen, 183
----, seeks mate, 225
----, taught by mate, 227
Fox-cub, chased by lurcher, 222
----, cleanly habits of, 212
----, described, 203
----, food of, 218, 235
----, killing hare, 219
----, killing polecat, 215, 216
----, stealing chickens, 24
Fox-cubs and partridges, 211
----, at play, 412, 422-426
----, eagerness of, for flesh, 209
Foxes, method of preparing "breeding earth," 232
Fox-hound, "rioting" on cold scent, 189
Fox-hunt, 186-193
Frogs, devoured by otters, 35
Geese, wild, 31
Gipsy, seeking hedgehogs, 387-389
Hare, and renegade cat, 288
----, and peregrine falcon, 265, 266
----, and poacher, 276, 285, 286
----, bravely defends young, 265
----, covered with fur at birth, 245
----, dislikes entering damp undergrowth, 274
----, does not wander far in wet weather, 258
----, food of, 248, 249, 251, 260
----, "form" described, 245
----, killed by lightning, 291
----, "leaping places" of, 434
----, method of fighting among males, 264
----, netted by keeper, 255
----, productiveness of, probably influenced by food supply, 276
----, recklessness of, in early spring, 263
----, running through flock of sheep, 283
----, suffers from want of exercise, 259
----, suffers less from frost than from rain, 260
----, swims across river, 273
----, winter habits of, 287
----, withholds scent when hard pressed, 283
Hedgehog, and fox, 382-384
----, and moorhens, 400, 401, 403-405
----, and owl, 385
----, and terrier, 388
----, food of, 394, 395, 398, 399
----, haunt of, 377
----, killing snake, 396, 397
----, nest of, 379, 389
History, vicissitudes of, affecting wild animals, 329
Hounds, miscellaneous pack, 54, 83
Hunt, rival, 60
----, village, 77, 78, 83
Huntsman, feeding fox-cubs, 209
Ianto, the fisherman, 28, 30, 83, 429-442
Joker, the bob-tailed sheep-dog, 54, 55, 58-60
Kestrel, attacking field-voles, 148
----, preying on bank-voles, 147
Man, dreaded by wild animals, 13, 40
----, senses dulled by immunity from fear, 72
Mange, attacking carnivorous animals, 212
March, great changes to wild life in, 263
Minnows, playing about ledges of rock, 103
Moorhen, eluding terrier, 61
----, killed by otter, 32
Mouse, singing, 82
Nature, haunted by Fear, 75
----, spirit of restlessness in, 156
Night, described, 3, 85, 86
----, spiritual influence of, 85
---- -watching, difficulties of, 427
---- - ----, methods of, 410
Otter, and big trout, 106
----, and dabchick, 12
----, and "red" fish, 101
----, and water-vole, 86-89, 101
----, fighting terrier, 42
----, food of, 15, 35, 47, 48
----, hunting methods of, 20
----, inhabiting drain-pipe, 9
----, in winter, 15, 47
----, migrating to sea, 46
----, playing in heavy stream, 33, 34
----, position of, when sleeping, 33
----, related to weasel, 22
---- -cub, capturing salmon, 22
----, described, 21
----, learns to swim, 9
---- -cubs, at play, 11
---- -hounds, 36
---- -hunt, 37-39, 41-44, 84
Owl, brown, described, 385, 386
----, and fox-cub, 205, 214
----, and water-vole, 88, 89
----, attacks hedgehog, 385, 386
----, preying on field-voles, 157
Owls, as friends of farmer, 169
Owls, inhabiting farm buildings, 7
Philip, the poacher, 429-443
Polecats, enemies of young hedgehogs, 384
Rabbit, burrowing in badgers' "set," 314, 315
Rabbits, clearing tracks, 418
Rat, brown, attacked by water-voles, 123
----, ----, habits of, 64, 110
---- -hunting, by riverside, 58-60
Rats, migration of, 110
"Redd" of salmon, 99
Salmon, migration of, 95, 96
---- -fishing, experiences in, 26-30
---- -pool, seldom visited, 25
---- -spawn, destroyers of, 99
---- - ----, guarded by salmon, 98, 100, 101
Sheep-dog, and otter, 17
Sorrel, as medicinal herb for wild animals, 335
Sport, winter, 54
Squirrel, harvesting only ripe seeds and nuts, 105
----, inquisitive, 92
Stoats, following rats in migration, 110
Stone-fly, 20
Teal, 31
Terrier, worsted by otter, 44
Thrush, autumn song of, 24
----, defending young against hedgehog, 405
Trick, poacher's, to capture hare, 276
Trout, an old, carnivorous, 95
----, habit of, in spring, 19
Viper, attacked by hedgehog, 397
----, enemy of young hedgehogs, 398
Vixen, dispossessing another of "breeding earth," 201
----, life spared by hounds, 219
----, routing terrier from "breeding earth," 191
Vixen-cubs, quicker to learn than fox-cubs, 210
Voles, see _Bank-voles, Field-voles, Water-voles_
Water-shrew, described, 93
----, food of, 93, 94, 106, 107
----, habits of, 93, 94
Water-vole, and otter, 86-89
----, and owl, 89, 118
----, and trout, 94, 125
----, as singer, 79-82, 89
----, constructing nest, 121, 122
----, described, 121
----, enemies of, 79
----, food of, 71, 105, 106
----, habits studied, 80
----, home of, 68, 69, 103, 109, 110, 117, 126
----, love episodes of, 117-120
----, methods of fighting, 119, 123
----, winter storehouse of, 105, 109, 126
Water-voles, attacking brown rat, 123
Weasel, ferocity of, 76
----, food for fox-cub, 213
Weasels, following rats in migration, 110
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End of Project Gutenberg's Creatures of the Night, by Alfred W. Rees