A COLONY OF WEASELS.

Temuka Leader, Issue 1386, 1 September 1885, Page 1

A COLONY OF WEASELS.

Delos Lante, an Elk country farmer, has been annoyed greatly this winter by weasels in his poultry yaid ahd l hduie,,:the bloodthirsty little aninials <: haTHig killed Ida fowls by the score, and defied all ( ffoi ta to trap tliem. The other day Mr Lante was walking through a stony field on his farm, ami he saw a weasel run into a big heap of atones piled loosely in the middle of the field. He bad a: walking stick, and going to the stone pile, ,began to throw down stones to get at the. weasel or scare it out. Presently a weasel jumped out, and he struck it with his cane. It did not run away, but sprang at Lante's throat—a spot a weasel instinctively tries to seize. The firmer struck at it again and hit it, but itreturned gamely to the attack, and, whether in answer to a signal or not the farmer does not know, weasels la can to swarm out of the ston# pil6‘ on a'l sides, and in a second were springing upon Laute, climbing nimbly -up bis dotlies, frying to reach his face. They bit him with their sharp teeth, and find, ing that he would be unable to keep the savage little bloodsuckers from fastening their teeth in his neck without help, he shook them off as best ; as he could and started at the top of his speed for home. The weasels followed him until'he scaled the fence. His hands were bleeding fiom a dozen wounds, and if he had remained to fight the weasels they would -undoubtedly have overpowered' and killed him. In the afternoon Mr Lante returned to the stone pile ; with two men, two guns, and a dog. They routed out the weasels and killed thirty—a colony which has been devastating the entire neighborhood for « year or more., ,