HISTORY AND HABITS OF THE WOLVERENE. 53 



indisposed to carry it so far home, determined to kill and skin 

 it before it should freeze. But how to cache the skin till my 

 return I This was a serious question, for Carcajou tracks were 

 numerous. Placing the carcase as a decoy in a clump of willows 

 at one side of the path, I went some distance on the opposite 

 side, dug a hole with my snow-shoe about three feet deep in the 

 snow, packed the skin in the smallest possible compass, and 

 put it in the bottom of the hole, which I filled up again very 

 carefully, packing the snow down hard, and then strewing 

 loose snow over the surface till the spot looked as if it had 

 never been disturbed. I also strewed blood and entrails in the 

 path and around the willows. Eeturning next morning, I found 

 that the carcase was gone, as I expected it would be, but that 

 the place where the skin was cached was apparently undis- 

 turbed. *Ah! you rascal,' said I, addressing aloud the absent 

 Carcajou, ' I have outwitted you for once.' I lighted my pipe, 

 and proceeded leisurely to dig up the skin to place in my muski- 

 moot. I went clear down to the ground, on this side and on 

 that, but no Lynx skin was there. The Carcajou had been 

 before me, and had carried it off along with the carcase 5 but 

 he had taken the pains to fill up the hole again and make every- 

 thing as smooth as before ! 



"At Peel's Eiver, on one occasion, a very old Carcajou dis- 

 covered my Marten road, on which I had nearly a hundred and 

 fifty traps. I was in the habit of visiting the line about once 

 a fortnight ; but the beast fell into the way of coming oftener 

 than I did, to my great annoyance and vexation. I determined 

 to put a stop to his thieving and his life together, cost what it 

 might. So I made six strong traps at as many different points, 

 and also set three steel traps. For three weeks I tried my best 

 to catch the beast without success ; and my worst enemy would 

 allow that I am no green hand in these matters. The animal 

 carefully avoided the traps set for his own benefit, and seemed 

 to be taking more delight than ever in demolishing my Marten 

 traps and eating the Martens, scattering the poles in every 

 direction, and caching what baits or Martens he did not devour 

 on the spot. As we had no poison in those days, I next set a 

 gun on the bank of a little lake. The gun was concealed in 

 some low bushes, but the bait was so placed that the Carcajou 

 must see it on his way up the bank. I blockaded my path to 

 the gun with a small pine tree which completely hid it. On 

 my first visit afterward I found that the beast had gone up to 



