CHAPTER XXXI.
THE JUMPING MOUSE AND THE ERMINE.
Large as the hare was, she would have made but a meal for our fourhungry voyageurs, had they eaten at will. By Lucien's advice, however,they restrained themselves, and half of her was left for supper, whenthe "cook" promised to make them hare-soup. The head, feet, and otherspare bits, fell to Marengo's share. The owl, whose flesh was almost aswhite as its plumage, and, as Norman well knew, most delicate eating,was reserved for to-morrow's breakfast.
They had pitched their tent with the intention of remaining at thatplace all night, and continuing their journey next day; but, as it stillwanted several hours of sunset, and the strength of all was considerablyrecruited, they resolved to hunt about the neighbourhood as long as theyhad light. It was of great importance that they should procure moregame. The owl would make but a spare breakfast, and after that where wasthe next meal to come from? They had had a temporary relief, and whiletheir strength lasted, they must use every effort to procure a furthersupply. The valley in which their new camp was placed looked well forgame.
It was a sort of oaesis in the Barren Grounds. There was a lake and aconsiderable skirting of timber around it--consisting, as we have said,of willows, poplars, spruce-pine, and dwarf birch-trees. The Alpinearbutus, whose berries are the food of many species of animals, alsogrew upon the side of the hills; and the Labrador tea-plant was foundupon the low ground around the lake. The leaves of this last is afavourite food of the Polar hare, and our voyageurs had no doubt butthat there were many of these animals in the neighbourhood. Indeed, theyhad better evidence than conjecture, for they saw numerous hare-tracksin the snow. There were tracks of other animals too, for it is awell-known fact that where one kind exists, at least two or three otherswill be found in the same habitat--all being connected together by a"chain of destruction."
A singular illustration of this was afforded to Lucien, who remained atthe camp while the rest went out hunting. He had gathered some of theleaves of the Labrador tea, and was drying them over the coals,intending to cheer his comrades with a cup of this beverage aftersupper. The hare-soup was boiling, and the "cook" sat listening to thecheerful sounds that issued from the pot--now and then taking off thelid to examine its savoury contents, and give them a stir. He would thendirect his attention to the tea-leaves that were parching in thefrying-pan; and, having shifted them a little, felt himself at libertyto look about for a minute or two.
On one of these occasions, while glancing up, his attention wasattracted to an object which appeared upon the snow at a short distancefrom where he sat. A wreath of snow, that had formed under the shelterof the hill, extended all around its base, presenting a steep front inevery direction. This front was only two or three feet in height; butthe top surface of the wreath was many yards wide--in fact, it extendedback until it became blended with the slope of the hill. It was smoothand nearly level, but the hill above was steep, and somewhat rough androcky. The steep front of the wreath came down within half-a-dozen pacesof the fire where Lucien was seated; and it was upon the top orscarpment of it that the object appeared that had drawn his attention.It was a small creature, but it was in motion, and thus had caught hiseye.
A single glance showed him that the little animal was a mouse, but of asomewhat singular species. It was about the size of the common mouse,but quite different in colour. The upper half of its body was of a lightmahogany tint, while the lower half, including the legs and feet, wereof a milky whiteness. It was, in fact, the "white-footed mouse" (_Musleucopus_), one of the most beautiful of its kind.
Here and there above the surface of the snow protruded the tops ofarbutus-trees; and the little creature was passing from one of these tothe other, in search, no doubt, of the berries that remain upon thesetrees all the winter. Sometimes it ran from point to point like anyother mouse, but now and then it would rear itself on its hind-legs, andleap several feet at a single bound! In this it evidently assisteditself by pressing its tail--in which it possesses muscularpower--against the snow. This peculiar mode of progression has obtainedfor it the name of the "jumping-mouse," and among the Indians"deer"-mouse, because its leap reminds them of the bounding spring ofthe deer. But there are still other species of "jumping-mice" in Americathat possess this power to a greater degree even than the _Musleucopus_.
Lucien watched its motions without attempting to interfere with it,until it had got nearly out of sight. He did not desire to do injury tothe little creature, nor was he curious to obtain it, as he had alreadymet with many specimens, and examined them to his satisfaction. He hadceased to think of it, and would, perhaps, never have thought of itagain, but, upon turning his eyes in the opposite direction, he observedanother animal upon the snow. This creature had a far different aspectfrom the mouse. Its body was nearly a foot in length, although not muchthicker than that of the other! Its legs were short, but strong, and itsforehead broad and arched convexly. It had a tail more than half thelength of the body, hairy, and tapering like that of a cat. Its form wasthe well-known form of the weasel, and it was, in fact, a species ofweasel.
It was the celebrated _ermine_, celebrated for its soft and beautifulfur, so long prized as an ornament for the robes of the rich. It waswhite all over, with the exception of its tail; and that, for about aninch or so at the tip, was covered with black silky hair. On some partsof the body, too, the white was tinged with a primrose yellow; but thistinge is not found in all animals of this species, as some individualsare pure white. Of course it was now in its winter "robes"; but in thesummer it changes to a colour that does not differ much from that of thecommon weasel.
When Lucien first saw it, it was running along the top of the wreath,and coming from the same direction from which the mouse had come. Nowand then it paused awhile, and then ran on again. Lucien observed thatit kept its nose to the ground, and as it drew nearer he saw that it wasfollowing on the same path which the other had taken. To hisastonishment he perceived that it was _trailing the mouse_! Whatever thelatter had doubled or made a _detour_, the ermine followed the track;and where the mouse had given one of its long leaps, there the erminewould stop, and, after beating about until it struck the trail again,would resume its onward course at a gallop. Its manoeuvres were exactlylike those of a hound upon the fresh trail of a fox!
Lucien now looked abroad to discover the mouse. It was still in sightfar off upon the snow, and, as Lucien could see, busily gnawing at thearbutus, quite unconscious that its _greatest_ enemy was so near. I saygreatest enemy, for the _Mus leucopus_ is the _natural_ prey of the_Mustela erminea_.
The mouse was soon made aware of the dangerous proximity, but not untilthe ermine had got within a few feet of it. When it perceived the latterit shrunk, at first, among the leaves of the arbutus; but seeing therewould be no protection there--as the other was still springing forwardto seize it--it leaped up, and endeavoured to escape by flight. Itsflight appeared to be in alternate jumps and runs, but the chase was nota long one. The ermine was as active as a cat, and, after a few skips,its claws were struck into the mouse. There was a short, slender squeak,and then a "crunch," like the cracking of a hazel-nut. This last soundwas produced by the teeth of the ermine breaking through the skull ofits victim.