at last die from their wounds.
Lenz tells of a marten that would play with its prey for hours when not
hungry. Especially was this true when marmots chanced to be his victims,
and around these he would leap and spring, dealing them terrific blows
first with one paw and then with the other. When hungry, however, he
proceeded differently, devouring them at once from teeth to tail.

All the cat family, it seems, are fond of human companionship, and take
almost as much delight in playing with human beings as with their own
kind. This is especially true of the puma. Brehm tells of a tame one
that delighted in hiding at the approach of his master and springing out
unexpectedly, just as the lion does. Hudson claimed that the puma, with
the exception of the monkey, was possibly the most playful of all
animals. Travellers tell many interesting tales of the play of these
animals, especially on the Pampas of South America.

Gross relates the experience of an Englishman who was compelled to spend
the night outdoors on the Pampas of the La Plata. At about nine o'clock,
on a bright moonlight night, he saw four pumas coming toward him, two
adult animals and two young ones. He well knew that these animals would
not attack him, so he quietly waited. In a short time they approached
him, chasing one another and playing hide-and-seek like little kittens;
and finally leaped directly over the man several times. The mother cat
would run ahead, calling to the little ones to follow her. But she never
disturbed him.

At times an animal at play with another uses the same tactics and
methods employed on its prey. Of course, the value of such practice for
the tasks of later-life is evident. Dogs play hide-and-seek, tag, and
various chasing games for hours without resting. Among the negroes of
the South it is not uncommon to see a hound playing hide-and-seek with
the little pickaninnies. I have seen a hound peeping in and out among a
pile of brush to discover where the little ones were hiding, and at the
first sight of a little black face, he would lay low in anticipation of
a playful spring, or a sudden dash-away, with the expectation of being
chased by his friends. At times he would suddenly disappear toward his
home, and slyly slip around and approach the playground from an opposite
direction.

Every one who has owned fox terriers knows how they will crouch in the
open grass and remain motionless, with quivering expectation for the
other play