Then
there would be a red flash and the meat would be gone. The red flash
was his tongue, which is attached at the outer end and folds back in
his mouth. It is, moreover, large and sticky, and he can throw it out
and back like lightning. All you see is the red flash of it, and his
game is gone.
One day, to try the effects of nicotine on a new subject, I took a bit
of Simmo's black tobacco and gave it to Chigwooltz. He ate it
thankfully, as he did everything else I gave him. In a little while he
grew uneasy, sitting up and rubbing his belly with his fore paws.
Presently he brought his stomach up into his mouth, turned it inside
out to get rid of the tobacco, washed it thoroughly in the lake,
swallowed it down again, and was ready for his bread and beef. A most
convenient arrangement that; and also a perfectly unbiased opinion on
a much debated subject.
Chigwooltz, unlike many of my pets, was not in the least dependent on
my bounty. Indeed, he was a remarkable hunter on his own account, and
what he took from me he took as hospitality, not charity.
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