Two Little Savages

by Ernest Thompson Seton

  XI

  HOW TO SEE THE WOODFOLK

  The days went merrily now, beginning each morning with a hunting ofthe Woodchuck. The boys were on terms of friendship with the woodsthat contrasted strongly with the feelings of that first night.

  This was the thought in Sam's mind when he one day remarked, "Say,Yan, do you remember the night I slep' with the axe an' you with thehatchet?"

  The Indians had learned to meet and conquer all the petty annoyancesof camp life, and so forgot them. Their daily routine was simplified.Their acquaintance with woodfolk and wood-ways had grown so fastthat now they were truly at home. The ringing "_Kow_--_Kow_--_Kow_"in the tree-tops was no longer a mere wandering voice, but thesummer song of the Black-billed Cuckoo. The loud, rattling, birdywhistle in the low trees during dull weather Yan had traced to theTree-frog.

  The long-drawn "_Pee--re-e-e-e"_ of hot afternoons was the callof the Wood-peewee, and a vast number of mysterious squeaks andwarbles had been traced home to the ever-bright and mischievous BlueJay.

  The nesting season was now over, as well as the song season; the birds,therefore, were less to be seen, but the drying of the streams hadconcentrated much life in the swimming-pond. The fence had beenarranged so that the cattle could reach one end of it to drink, butthe lower parts were safe from their clumsy feet, and wild life ofmany kinds were there in abundance.

  The Muskrats were to be seen every evening in the calm pool, and fishin great numbers were in the deeper parts. Though they were small,the boys found them so numerous and so ready to bite that fishing wasgreat sport, and more than one good meal they had from that pond.There were things of interest discovered daily. In a neighbour's fieldSam had found another Woodchuck with a "price on his head." Rabbitsbegan to come about the camp at night, especially when the moon wasbright, and frequently of late they had heard a querulous, yelpingbark that Caleb said was made by a Fox "probably that old rascal thatlives in Callahan's woods."

  The gray Cat in the log was always interesting. The boys went veryregularly to watch from a distance, but for good reasons did not gonear. First, they did not wish to scare her; second, they knew that ifthey went too close she would not hesitate to attack them.

  One of the important lessons that Yan learned was this. In the woods_the silent watcher sees the most_. The great difficulty inwatching was how to pass the time, and the solution was to sit and_sketch._ Reading would have done had books been at hand, butnot so well as sketching, because then the eyes are fixed on the bookinstead of the woods, and the turning of the white pages is apt toalarm the shy woodfolk.

  Thus Yan put in many hours making drawings of things about the edge ofthe pond.

  Kingfisher]

  As he sat one day in stillness a Minnow leaped from the water andcaught a Fly. Almost immediately a Kingfisher that had been shootingpast stopped in air, hovered, and darting downward, came up with aMinnow in his beak, flew to a branch to swallow its prey, but nosooner got there when a Chicken-hawk flashed out of a thick tree,struck the Kingfisher with both feet and bore him downward to thebank--in a moment would have killed him, but a long, brown creaturerushed from a hole in the bank and sprang on the struggling pair, tochange the scene in a twinkling. The three stragglers separated, theHawk to the left, the Kingfisher to the right, the Minnow flopped backinto the pool, and the Mink was left on the shore with a mouthful offeathers and looking very foolish. As it stood shaking the down fromits nose another animal came gliding down through the shrubbery to theshore--the old gray Cat. The Mink wrinkled up his nose, showed tworows of sharp teeth and snarled in a furious manner, but backed offunder a lot of roots. The Cat laid down her ears; the fur on her backand tail stood up; she crouched a little, her eyes blazing and the endof her tail twitching, and she answered the snarling of the Mink witha low growl. The Mink was evidently threatening "sudden death" to theCat, and Pussy evidently was not much impressed. The Mink retreatedfarther under the roots till nothing but the green glowing of his eyeswas to be seen, and the Cat, coming forward, walked calmly by hishiding-place and went about her business. The snarling under the rootdied away, and as soon as his enemy was gone the Mink dived into thewater and was lost to view.

  These two animals had a second meeting, as Yan had the luck to witnessfrom his watching-place. He had heard the "plop" of a deft plunge, andlooked in time only to see the spreading rings near the shore. Thenthe water was ruffled far up in the pond. A brown spot showed and wasgone. A second appeared, to vanish as the first had done. Later, aMuskrat crawled out on the shore, waddled along for twenty feet, then,plunging in, swam below, came up at the other bank, and crawled undera lot of overhanging roots. A minute later the Mink appeared, his hairall plastered close till he looked like a four-legged Snake. He landedwhere the Muskrat had come out, followed the trail so that it waslost, then galloped up and down the shore, plunged in, swam across,and beat about the other shore. At last he struck the trail andfollowed. Under the root there were sounds of a struggle, the snarlingof the mink, and in two or three minutes he appeared dragging out thebody of the Muskrat. He sucked its blood and was eating the brainswhen again the gray Cat came prowling up the edge of the pond and,not ten feet off, stood face to face with the Mink, as she had donebefore.

  The Water Weasel saw his enemy but made no attempt to escape fromher. He stood with forepaws on his victim and snarling a warning anddefiance to the Cat. Pussy, after glaring for a few seconds, leapedlightly to the high bank, passed above the Mink, then farther onleaped down, and resumed her journey up the shore.

  Why should the Mink fear the Cat the first time, and the Cat the Minkthe second? Yan believed that ordinarily the Cat could "lick,"but that now the Mink had right on his side; he was defending hisproperty, and the Cat, knowing that, avoided a quarrel; whereas thesame Cat would have faced a thousand Mink in defense of her Kittens.

  These two scenes did not happen the same day, but are told togetherbecause Yan always told them together afterward to show that theanimals understand something of right and wrong.

  But later Yan had another experience with the Muskrats. He and Samwere smoothing out the lower album for the night, when a long streamof water came briskly down the middle of the creek bed, which had beendry for more than a week.

  "Hallo," said Woodpecker, "where's that from?"

  "A leak in the dam," said Little Beaver, with fear in his voice.

  The boys ran up to the dam and learned that the guess was right.The water had found an escape round the end of the dam, and a closeexamination showed that it had been made by a burrowing Muskrat.

  It was no little job to get it tightly closed up. But the spade washandy, and a close-driven row of stakes with plenty of stiff claypacked behind not only stopped the leak but gave a guarantee that infuture that corner at least would be safe.

  When Caleb heard of the Muskrat mischief he said:

  "Now ye know why the Beavers are always so dead sore on the Muskrats.They know the Rats are liable to spoil their dams any time, so theykill them whenever they get the chance."

  Little Beaver rarely watched an hour without seeing something ofinterest in the swamp. The other warriors had not the patience to waitso long and they were not able to make a pastime of sketching.

  Yan made several hiding-places where he found that living things weremost likely to be seen. Just below the dam was a little pool wherevarious Crawfish and thread-like Eels abounding proved very attractiveto Kingfisher and Crow, while little Tip-ups or Teetering Snipe wouldwiggle their latter end on the level dam, or late in the day thenever-failing Muskrat would crawl out on a flat stone and sit likea fur cap. The canon part of the creek was another successfulhiding-place, but the very best was at the upper end of the pond, forthe simple reason that it gave a view of more different kinds of land.First the water with Muskrats and occasionally a Mink, next the littlemarsh, always there, but greatly increased now by the back-up of thewater. Here one or two Field-mice and a pair of Sora Rails were athome. Close at hand was the thick woods, w
here Partridges and BlackSquirrels were sometimes seen.

  Yan was here one day sketching the trunk of a Hemlock to pass thewatching time, but also because he had learned to love that old tree.He never sketched because he loved sketching; he did not; the motivealways was love of the thing he was drawing.

  A Black-and-white Creeper had crawled like a Lizard over all thetrunks in sight. A Downy Woodpecker had digged a worm out of a log bylabour that most birds would have thought ill-paid by a dozen suchworms. A Chipmunk had come nearer and nearer till it had actually runover his foot and then scurried away chattering in dismay at itsown rashness; finally, a preposterous little Cock Chickadee sang"_Spring soon_--_spring soon_," as though any one were interested inthe gratuitous and unconvincing fib, when a brown, furry form hoppednoiselessly from the green leaves by the pond, skipped over a narrowbay without wetting its feet, paused once or twice, then in the middleof the open glade it sat up in plain view--a Rabbit. It sat so longand so still that Yan first made a sketch that took three of fourminutes, then got out his watch and timed it for three minutes longerbefore it moved in the least. Then it fed for some time, and Yantried to make a list of the things it ate and the things it shunned,but could not do so with certainty.

  A noisy Flicker came out and alighted close by on a dried branch. TheRabbit, or really a Northern Hare, "froze"--that is, became perfectlystill for a moment--but the Flicker marks were easy to read and hadlong ago been learned as the uniform of a friend, so the Rabbitresumed his meal, and when the Flicker flew again he paid no heed.A Crow passed over, and yet another. "No; no danger from them." ARed-shouldered Hawk wailed in the woods; the Rabbit heard that andevery other sound, but the Red-shoulder is not dangerous, and he knewit. A large Hawk with _red tail_ circled silently over the glade,and the Rabbit froze on the instant. That same red tail was the markof a dreaded foe. How well Bunny had learned to know them all!

  A bunch of clover tempted him to a full repast, after which he hoppedinto a tussock in the midst of the glade and there turned himself intoa moss-bump, his legs swallowed up in his fur, and his ears laid overhis back like a pair of empty gloves or a couple of rounded shingles;his nose-wabblings reduced in number, and he seemed to be sleeping inthe last warm rays of the sun. Yan was very anxious to see whether hiseyes were open or not; he had been told that Rabbits sleep withopen eyes, but at this distance he could not be sure. He had nofield-glass and Guy was not at hand, so the point remained in doubt.

  The last sun-blots had gone from the trail and the pond was allshadowed by the trees on the western side. A Robin began its eveninghymn on a tall tree, where it could see the red sun going down, and aVeery was trilling his _weary, weary, weary_ in the Elder thicketalong the brook, when another, a larger animal, loomed up in thedistant trail and glided silently toward Yan. Its head was low and hecould not make out what it was. As it stood there for a few secondsYan wet his finger in his mouth and held it up. A slight coolness onthe side next the coming creature told Yan that the breeze was from itto him and would not betray him. It came on, seeming to grow larger,turned a little to one side, and then Yan saw plainly by the sharpnose and ears and the bushy tail that it was nothing less than a Fox,probably the one that often barked near camp at night.

  It was trotting away at an angle, knowing nothing of the watching boynor of the crouching Rabbit, when Yan, merely to get a better look atthe cunning one, put the back of his hand to his mouth and by suckingmade a slight Mouse-like squeak, sweetest music, potent spellbinder,to a hungry Fox, and he turned like a flash. For a moment he stood,head erect, full of poise and force in curb; a second squeak--he cameslowly back toward the sound and in so doing passed between Yan andthe Rabbit. He had crossed its old trail without feeling muchinterest, but now the breeze brought its _body scent_. Instantly theFox gave up the Mouse hunt--no hunter goes after Mice when big game isat hand--and began an elaborate and beautiful stalk of the Rabbit--theRabbit that he had not seen. But his nose was his best guide. Hecautiously zigzagged up the wind, picking his steps with the greatestcare, and pointing with his nose like a Pointer Dog. Each step wasbringing him nearer to Bunny as it slept or seemed asleep in thetussock. Yan wondered whether he ought not to shout out and end thestalk before the Rabbit was caught, but as a naturalist he was eagerto see the whole thing out and learn how the Fox would make thecapture. The red-furred gentleman was now within fifteen feet of thetussock and still the gray one moved not. Now he was within twelvefeet--and no move; ten feet--and Bunny seemed in tranquil sleep; eightfeet--and now the Fox for the first time seemed to actually see hisvictim. Yan had hard work to keep from shouting a warning; sixfeet--and now the Fox was plainly preparing for a final spring.

  "Is it right to let him?" and Yan's heart beat with excitement.

  The Fox brought his feet well under him, tried the footing till itwas perfect, gathered all his force, then with silent, vicious energysprung straight for the sleeper. Sleeping? Oh, no! Not at all. Bunnywas playing his own game. The moment the Fox leaped, he leaped withequal vigour the opposite way and out under his enemy, so Reynardlanded on the empty bunch of grass. Again he sprang, but the Rabbithad rebounded like a ball in the other direction, and continued thisbewildering succession of marvellous erratic hops. The Fox in vaintried to keep up, for these wonderful side jumps are the Rabbit'sstrength and the Fox's weakness; and Bunny went zigzag--hop--skip--into the thicket and was gone before the Fox could get his heavierbody under speed at all.

  Had the Rabbit bounded out as soon as he saw the Fox coming he mighthave betrayed himself unnecessarily; had he gone straight away whenthe Fox leaped for him he might have been caught in three or fourleaps, for the enemy was under full speed, but by biding his time hehad courted no danger, and when it did come he had played the onlypossible offset, and "lives in the greenwood still."

  The Fox had to seek his supper somewhere else, and Yan went to camphappy in having learned another of the secrets of the woods.