THE MARTEN FAMILY— BADGER. 



171 



Methods of Various devices are employed in catch- 

 Catching [ n g the Badger. Sometimes it is dug or 



the Badger, bored out of its burrow in a most cruel 

 manner, with an instrument resembling a corkscrew ; 

 or it is driven out by Dogs and then shot. Its only 

 chance of escape is by hiding so successfully that 

 not even the Dogs can find it in its burrow, it being 

 so clumsy that it could never escape by flight. When 

 pursued to its burrow it therefore usually seeks to 

 save itself by noiselessly burrowing deeper with 

 great rapidity. Frequently it escapes the vigilance 

 of the Dogs by pursuing this course. 



The best time for shooting the Badger is very early 

 in the morning, when it is upon its return home. 

 Waiting for it in the evening is a very tedious task, 

 as the distrustful animal comes out only in the middle 

 of the night and then it sallies forth in the most quiet 

 manner possible. 



Old Badgers that are taken from their burrows 

 are most disagreeable creatures, ungrateful for kind 

 treatment and incapable of receiving instruction, 

 being lazy, distrustful, treacherous and malicious. 

 They show their teeth 

 at the slightest prov- 

 ocation, and viciously 

 bite every one who 

 approaches them in- 

 cautiously. Those 

 that are captured 

 young and handled 

 with care behave 

 differently. They are 

 capable of domestica- 

 tion and affection, es- 

 pecially if they are 

 fed a vegetable, or 

 mainly a vegetable 

 diet. They may be- 

 come so tame as to 

 follow their keeper 

 about and return to 

 their cage at his com- 

 mand. 



Account of L u d w i g 



a Tame Beckman 



Badger. writes to 



me as follows about a 



tame Badger: "I have 



had a perfectly tame female Badger in my posses- 

 sion, and I mourn her loss deeply. Kaspar — that 

 was her name — was an honest soul, though not given 

 to refined notions. She desired to live at peace with 

 all the world, but her clumsy tricks often led to 

 misunderstandings and unpleasant experiences. Her 

 best chum was a very agile, sagacious Setter, which 

 I had trained from puppyhood to associate with all 

 kinds of wild animals. The Dog and the Badger 

 gave us, so to speak, veritable tournaments on beau- 

 tiful evenings, and people who were fond of animals 

 came to see them from miles around. The essential 

 feature of the fight consisted in the Badger's shaking 

 her head like a Wild Boar, and then running at the 

 Dog, trying to hit him sideways with her head in 

 passing. But the Dog would jump over her with a 

 graceful bound ; when she proceeded to a second 

 and a third attack. Then he would run into the gar- 

 den, and if, in the pursuit, she succeeded in catching 

 him by his hind leg, a vigorous fight ensued, which, 

 however, never proceeded to serious results. When 

 Kaspar became angry, she would retreat a short 

 distance, stand on her hind legs, trembling and pant- 



ing, with her hair standing on end. In this manner 

 she would trot back and forth before the Dog. like an 

 enraged Turkey. In a few moments her hair would 

 lie flat again, sjie would put her fore-paws down, and 

 shaking her head with a conciliatory grunt ' hu hu, 

 gu gu,' she would resume the wild play. 



" She was allowed the freedom of the whole house, 

 for she had exceedingly cleanly habits, and seemed 

 to take special delight in trotting up and down 

 stairs. Frequently she would trot quietly around in 

 the barn, putting her curious nose into every corner. 

 She esteemed it a special favor when she was al- 

 lowed to stay with me during a meal ; at such times 

 she pushed the Setter unaffectedly aside, put her 

 fore-paws and her sleek, striped head on my lap, 

 and uttering her customary 'hu hu, gu gu,' pleaded 

 for a piece of meat, which she very gently and dex- 

 terously detached from the fork with her front 

 teeth. During the winter she liked to lie in front 

 of the stove, turning her broad under surface to the 

 cheerful fire. 



" In summer she often accompanied me to a little 



THE AMERICAN BADGER, OR TAXEL. The American representative of the Badger family, distributed al! 



over this country, but especially numerous in the West, is a fierce and bloodthirsty little animal. Its bulky, squatty body, 

 and short, broad tail, and the long, strong claws and short, soft fur which distinguish this animal, are seen in this illustra- 

 tion sketched from a picture by Audubon. Although its movements are somewhat slow and ponderous its craft enables 

 it to catch not only rodents but also birds, as shown in the illustration. I Taxidea americana.) 



wood, where she felt completely at home and made 

 new discoveries at every step. Either she caught 

 a Humble-bee or dug a worm out of the ground, 

 or she found some berries, or a Snail on the way. 

 When I was returning, she sulkily trotted at my heels, 

 and usually would begin to pull my trousers with her 

 teeth. If I administered to her a sound kick with 

 my foot, she regarded it in the light of an encour- 

 agement to proceed with her play ; but the slightest 

 slap with the hand or a blow with the whip wounded 

 her deeply." ' 



The American The American Badger or Taxel ( Ta ridea 

 Badaer a americana), which was formerly classed with 

 Distinct Variety. its European cousin, is now justly regarded 

 * as a distinct species. 1 he body is very 

 stoutly built, has a flattened appearance, and is about twenty- 

 four inches long ; the tail six inches. The fur is a grizzled 

 mixture of a blackish tawny-gray and white, and the tail is 

 broad and flattened. The claws on the fore-paws are very 

 large and strong, furnishing the animal excellent tools for dig- 

 ging. The snout is shorter and the over-hair, which projects 

 above the woolly undercoat, is softer than that of the European 

 Badger ; and this soft hair is used for making painters' pencils. 

 Dr. Elliott Coues says that " the Badger, above all our cither 

 animals, is notable for its flatness ; even when running it looks 

 broad and flat, and its body seems to sweep the ground during 



