Creatures of the Night: A Book of Wild Life in Western Britain. Alfred Wellesley Rees
I.
HAUNTS OF THE BADGER AND THE FOX.
| THE OTTER. | |
| I. | |
| THE HOLT AMONG THE ALDERS. | |
| PAGE | |
| Late fishing—A summer night—River voices—A master-fisher—The old mansion—Lingering beauty—The otters' “oven”—Observant youngsters—Careful motherhood—The meadow playground—Falling leaves—A swollen river—Dabchick's oar-like wings—Mysterious proceedings—Migrating salmon—Hoar-fringed river-banks—An adventure with a sheep-dog—Slip-shod builders—Signs of spring—A change of diet—Fattening trout—The capture of a “kelt”—“The otter's bite”—Lone wanderings. | 1–23 |
| II. | |
| THE POOL BENEATH THE FARMSTEAD. | |
| A song of autumn—The salmon pool—Angling difficulties—Bullying a sportive fish—An absent-minded fisherman—At dawn and nightfall—A deserted home—Practical joking—A moorhen's fate—Playfulness of youth—The torrent below the fall—The garden ponds—Feasting on frogs—A watcher of the night—Hounds and hunters—Lutra's discretion—The spell of fear | 24–40 |
| III. | |
| THE GORGE OF ALLTYCAFN. | |
| The Hunt again—Fury of despair—A “strong place”—The terrier's discomfiture—Lutra's widowhood—Summer drought—Life at the estuary—Returning to the river—Scarce provender—A rare and unexpected sight—The blacksmith's baited trap—The Rock of Gwion—Peace | 41–50 |
| THE WATER-VOLE. | |
| I. | |
| OUR VILLAGE HOUNDS. | |
| Quiet life—Leisure hours—A winter pastime—A miscellaneous pack—The bobtail, and his fight with an otter—The terrier, and his friendship with fishermen—A family party—Expert diving—Hunt membership, and the landlord as huntsman—Fast and furious fun—A rival Hunt—The bobtail's death—The terrier's eccentricities—A pleasant study begins—Brown rats—Yellow ants—Brighteye's peculiarities—Evening sport | 51–67 |
| II. | |
| THE BURROW IN THE RIVER BANK. | |
| At dusk—A picturesque home—Main roads and lanes of the riverside people—A heron's alertness—A rabbit's danger signal—The reed-bed—The vole in fear—The wildest of the wild—Tell-tale footprints—The significance of a blood-stain—A weasel's ferocity—Maternal warnings—A rat-hunting spaniel—An invaded sanctuary—The terrier's opportunity—The water-vole chatters and sings—A gladsome life—Dangers sharpen intellect | 68–82 |
| III. | |
| WILD HUNTING. | |
| An otter-hunt—Fading afterglow—Spiritual influence of night—Lutra and Brighteye—Brighteye's song—Chill waters—A beacon in the gloom—A squirrel's derision—A silvery phantom—An old, lean trout—Restless salmon—Change of quarters—Brighteye's encounter with a “red” fish | 83–98 |
| IV. | |
| SAVED BY AN ENEMY. | |
| The “redd” in the gravel—In company with a water-shrew—Ravenous trout—The salmon's attack—An otter appears—Brighteye's bewilderment—Increasing vigilance—Playful minnows—A new water-entrance—The winter granary—Careful harvesting—The dipper's winter carol—The robin and the wren at vespers—Unsafe quarters—Rats on the move—A sequestered pool—Icebound haunts | 99–115 |
| V. | |
| THE COURAGE OF FEAR. | |
| The dawn—Restlessness of spring—A bold adventurer—A sharp fight—Cleared pathways—Differences of opinion—A tight snuggery—In defence of home—A monster rat—Temporary refuge—The voles and the cannibal trout—Family troubles—A winter evening in the village | 116–129 |
| THE FIELD-VOLE. | |
| I. | |
| HIDDEN PATHWAYS IN THE GRASS. | |
| A pleasant wilderness—Pitying Nature—Hedgerow sentinels—The story of the day—Familiar signs—An unknown scent—The agony of fear—A change of mood—The weasel's raid—A place of slaughter—Autumn preparations—A general panic—Hibernation—Winter sunshine—The red bank-voles—Owls and hawks | 131–150 |
| II. | |
| THE VALLEY OF OLWEN. | |
| The last of winter's stores—Renewed activity—The field-vole's food—A lively widow vole—An unequal encounter—First fond passion—Ominous sounds—A clumsy rabbit—An unimportant “affair”—An elopement—Nesting time—A fussy parent—A fox pays a visit—Also a carrion crow—Repairing damages | 151–166 |
| III. | |
| A BARREN HILLSIDE. | |
| A secluded pasture—Poachers and owls—An astute magpie—The vole a sire of many families—Plague—Nature's caprice—Privation and disease—Unexpected destroyers—A living skeleton—Starvation and death—An owl once more | 167–175 |
| THE FOX. | |
| I. | |
| THE LAST HUNT. | |
| A baffled marauder—The flesh of breeding creatures tough and tasteless—An unsavoury rat—The arrival of the Hunt—The fox sees his foes—The view-halloo—No respite, no mercy, no sanctuary—The last hope—A fearless vixen—Defiant to the end | 177–193 |
| II. | |
| A NEW HOME. | |
| Life in an artificial “earth”—Longing and despair—Contentment of maternity—Prisoners—A way of escape—Careless infancy—A precocious cub—First lessons—An obedient family—A fox's smile—Inborn passion for flesh—Favourite food of fox-cubs—The huntsman's desire | 194–209 |
| III. | |
| THE CUB AND THE POLECAT. | |
| Patience and watchfulness—How to capture field-voles—Winding trails—Ill-luck—A painful surprise—A fresh line of scent—Cost of a struggle—A luckless fortnight—The old hound and the “young entry”—A curiously shaped monster—Pursued by a lurcher—Desertion—A vagrant bachelor | 210–223 |
| IV. | |
| A CRY OF THE NIGHT. | |
| The hunting call—A recollection—A joyous greeting—A woodland bride—The sting of a wasp—Preparation of a “breeding earth”—Meddlesome jays and magpies—A rocky fastness on the wild west coast—Vulp's retreat—The end of a long life—The fox's mask—Memories | 224–240 |
| THE BROWN HARE. |
| I. |
| THE UPLAND |