All the other creatures, in their natural state, are afraid of it.
They look upon it with wonder and dismay. It fascinates them,
sometimes, with its glittering eyes in the night. The squirrels and
the hares come pattering softly towards it through the underbrush
around the new camp. The fascinated deer stares into the blaze of
the jack-light while the hunter's canoe creeps through the lily-
pads. But the charm that masters them is one of dread, not of love.
It is the witchcraft of the serpent's lambent look. When they know
what it means, when the heat of the fire touches them, or even when
its smell comes clearly to their most delicate sense, they recognize
it as their enemy, the Wild Huntsman whose red hounds can follow,
follow for days without wearying, growing stronger and more furious
with every turn of the chase. Let but a trail of smoke drift down
the wind across the forest, and all the game for miles and miles
will catch the signal for fear and flight.
Many of the animals have learned how to make houses for themselves.
The CABANE of the beaver is a wonder of neatness and comfort, much
preferable to the wigwam of his Indian hunter. The muskrat knows
how thick and high to build the dome of his waterside cottage, in
order to protect himself against the frost of the coming winter and
the floods of the following spring.
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