1008 Life-histories of Northern Animals 



Badger followed along as fixst as he could, right at the heels 

 of the Coyote. 



"I could see no reason nor could I explain it in any way 

 satisfactory to myself, and, although I asked several people in 

 the West about it, the occurrence is still a mystery to me." 



Some similar cases have been reported to me by G. A. 

 Rimington, of Penrith, Eng. Several times, near Calgary, 

 in 1907, he saw a Badger and a Coyote associated and travelling 

 together. In these cases it seemed to be a partnership affair, 

 which was probably involuntary on the part of the Badger. 

 No doubt the Coyote knew very well that the Badger would 

 dig out Ground-squirrels, some of which would bolt and thus 

 give the Coyote a chance to share in the spoils. 



In exactly the same way the Badger is followed by hawks, 

 etc., in California, as graphically described by Mary Austin in 

 "The Land of Little Rain."" 



But the most remarkable case of all is a friendship between 

 a Manitoba Badger and a lost boy. This was related to me by 

 George Fraser, a native of Manitoba, and corroborated by his 

 mother, Mrs. Fraser, of Kildonan, and Archbishop Matheson. 



In 1 87 1, a little seven-year-old boy, named Harry Service, 

 wandering from his father's house at Bird's Hill, near Winnipeg, 

 was lost for two weeks. When found, he was living in a den 

 with a Badger. His clothes were torn so that he was nearly 

 naked, and his face was all scratched. He told his parents that 

 he had taken shelter in the hole during a rain-storm, and that the 

 Badger came later and scratched his face. At first they fought, 

 but the child was plucky and would not give up the hole. 

 Later the Badger brought some food and, after another quarrel, 

 allowed the child to eat some of it. In the days that followed 

 the Badger brought him food several times. The beast always 

 entered the den by one of the entrances not used by the child. 



When found they were on terms of friendship, and the 

 child cried bitterly when taken from his savage friend. The 

 boy's story, however, was not clear. He said at one time that 

 ° 1Q04, p. 152. 



