344 



ANIMALS OF 



chief protection from its horrid smell, which 

 few animals care to come near;" so that it 

 continues eating and sleeping till its prey be 

 devoured, bones and all, and then it mounts a 

 tree, in quest of another adventure. 



The glutton, like many others of the weasel 

 kind, seems to prefer the most putrid flesh to 

 that newly killed ; and such is the voracious- 

 ness of this hateful creature, that, if its swift- 

 ness and strength were equal to its rapacity, 

 it would Boon thin the forest of every other 

 living creature. But, fortunately, it is so slow, 

 that there is scarce a quadruped that cannot 

 escape it, except the beaver. This, therefore, 

 it very frequently pursues upon land ; but the 

 beaver generally makes good its retreat by 

 taking to the water, where the glutton has no 

 chance to succeed. This pursuit only hap- 

 pens in summer; for in winter all that remains 

 is to attack the beaver's house, as at that 

 time it never stirs from home. This attack, 

 however, seldom succeeds ? for the beaver 

 has a covert way bored under the ice, and 

 the glutton has only the trouble and disap- 

 pointment of sacking an empty town. 



A life of necessity generally produces a 

 good fertile invention. The glutton, conti- 

 nually pressed by the call of appetite, and 

 having neither swiftness nor activity to satis- 

 fy it, is obliged to make up by stratagem the 

 defects of nature. It is often seen to examine 

 the traps and the snares laid for other ani- 

 mals, in order to anticipate the fowlers. It is 

 said to practise a thousand arts to procure 

 its prey, to steal upon the retreats of the rein- 

 deer, the flesh of which animal it loves in pre- 

 ference to all others ; to lie in wait for such 

 animals as have been maimed by the hunters; 

 to pursue the isatis while it is hunting for it- 

 self; and when that animal has run down its 

 prey, to come in and seize upon the whole, 

 and sometimes to devour even its poor pro- 

 yider; when these pursuits fail, even to dig 



Linncei Systems, p. 67- 



up the graves, and fall upon the bodies inter- 

 red there, devouring them, bones and all. 

 For these reasons, the natives of the countries 

 where the glutton inhabits, hold it in utter 

 detestation, and usually term it the vulture 

 of quadrupeds. And yet, it is extraordinary 

 enough, that, being so very obnoxious to man, 

 it does not seem to fear him. b We are told 

 by Gemelin of one of these coming up boldly 

 and calmly where there were several persons 

 at work, without testifying the smallest ap- 

 prehension, or attempting to run until it had 

 received several blows, that at last totally 

 disabled it. In all probability it came among 

 them seeking its prey; and, having been used 

 to attack animals of inferior strength, it had 

 no idea of a force superior to its own. The 

 glutton, like all the rest of its kind, is a soli- 

 tary animal ; and is never seen in company 

 except with its female, with which it couples 

 in the midst of winter. The latter goes with 

 young about four months, and brings forth two 

 or three at a time. They burrow in holes 

 as the weasel ; and the male and female are 

 generally found together, both equally reso- 

 lute in defence of their young. Upon this 

 occasion the boldest dogs are afraid to ap- 

 proach them; they fight obstinately, and bite 

 most cruelly. However, as they are unable 

 to escape by flight, the hunters come to the 

 assistance of the dogs, and easily overpower 

 them. Their flesh, it may readily be supposed, 

 is not fit to be eaten ; but the skins amply re- 

 compense the hunters for their toil and dan- 

 ger. The fur has the most beautiful lustre 

 that can be imagined, and is preferred betbre 

 all others, except that of the Siberian fox, or 

 the sable. Among other peculiarities of this 

 animal, Linnaeus informs us, that it is very 

 difficult to be skinned : but from what cause, 

 whether its abominable stench, or the skin's 

 tenacity to the flesh, he has not thought fit 

 to inform us. 



b Buffon. c Linnzei System, p. 67 



