n themselves upon a
log or a rock. While you are yet many yards away from them, they slide
down into the water and are gone.

The land turtle, on the other hand, shows scarcely a trace of fear. He
will indeed pause in his walk when you are very near him, but he will
not retreat into his shell till you have poked him with your foot or
your cane. He appears to have no enemies; but the little spotted water
turtle is as shy as if he were the delicate tidbit that every creature
was searching for. I did once find one which a fox had dug out of the
mud in winter, and carried a few rods and dropped on the snow, as if he
had found he had no use for it.

One can understand the fearlessness of the skunk. Nearly every creature
but the farm-dog yields to him the right of way. All dread his terrible
weapon. If you meet one in your walk in the twilight fields, the chances
are that you will turn out for him, not he for you. He may even pursue
you, just for the fun of seeing you run. He comes waltzing toward you,
apparently in the most hilarious spirits.

The coon is probably the most courageous creature among our familiar
wild animals. Who ever saw a coon show the white feather? He will face
any odds with perfect composure. I have seen a coon upon the ground,
beset by four men and two dogs, and never for a moment losing his
presence of mind, or showing a sign of fear. The raccoon is clear grit.

The fox is a very wild and suspicious creature, but curiously enough,
when you suddenly come face to face with him, when he is held by a trap,
or driven by the hound, his expression is not that of fear, but of
shame and guilt. He seems to diminish in size and to be overwhelmed with
humiliation. Does he know himself to be an old thief, and is that the
reason of his embarrassment? The fox has no enemies but man, and when he
is fairly outwitted he looks the shame he evidently feels.

In the heart of the rabbit fear constantly abides. How her eyes
protrude! She can see back and forward and on all sides as well as a
bird. The fox is after her, the owls are after her, the gunners are
after her, and she has no defense but her speed. She always keeps well
to cover. The northern hare keeps in the thickest brush. If the hare or
rabbit crosses a broad open exposure it does so hurriedly, like a mouse
when it crosses the road. The mouse is in danger of being pounced upon
by a hawk, and the hare or rabbit by the snowy owl, or else the great
horned owl.