Some animals feign death after exhausting all other means of defence. The stink-bug (_pentatomid_) or bombardier bug (not the "bombardier beetle") has, on the sides of its abdomen near its middle coxæ ("hip bone"), certain bladder-like glands which secrete an acrid, foul-smelling fluid;[112] it has the power of ejecting this fluid at will. [112] Comstock, _The Study of Insects_, p. 145. When approached by an enemy, the stink-bug presents one side to the foe, crouching down on the opposite side, thus elevating its battery, and waits until its molester is within range; it then fires its broadside at the enemy. If the foe is not vanquished (as it commonly is), but still continues the attack, the bombardier turns and fires another broadside from the opposite side. If this second discharge does not prove efficacious (and I have rarely known it to fail), the little insect topples over, draws in its legs, and pretends to be dead. Many a man has acted in like manner. He has fought as long as he could; then, seeing the odds against him, he has feigned death, hoping that his antagonist would abandon him and cease his onslaughts. The stink-bug in this seems to be governed and directed by _reason_, though the means used for defence must come under the head of instinct. Many a blind, instinctive impulse in the lower animals is, in all probability, aided and abetted by intelligent ratiocination when once it has made its appearance. I have seen ants execute a like stratagem when overcome either by numbers or by stronger ants. They curl up their legs, draw down their antennæ, and drop to the ground. They will allow themselves to be pulled about by their foes without the slightest resistance, showing no signs of life whatever. The enemy soon leaves them, whereupon the cunning little creatures take to their feet and hurry away. The most noted and best known letisimulant among mammals is the opossum. I have seen this animal look as if dead for hours at a time. It can be thrown down any way, and its body and limbs will remain in the position assigned to them by gravity. It presents a perfect picture of death. The hare will act in the same way on occasions. The cat has been seen to feign death for the purpose of enticing its prey within grasping distance of its paws. In the mountains of East Tennessee (Chilhowee) I once saw a hound which would "play dead" when attacked by a more powerful dog than itself. It would fall upon its back, close its eyes, open its mouth, and loll out its tongue. Its antagonist would appear nonplussed at such strange conduct, and would soon leave it alone. Its master[113] declared that it had not been taught the trick by man, but that the habit was inherited or learned from its mother, which practised the same deception when hard pushed.[114] [113] Mr. George Griffiths, Griffiths' Cove, Chilhowee, Blount County, Tennessee.