THE BADGER. 15 



a Greenlander and his wife are paddling out at sea, by coming too near 

 an ice-float, a white bear unexpectedly jumps into their boat, and if 

 he does not overset it, sits calmly where he first came down, and, liko 

 a passenger, suffers himself to be rowed along. It is probable the 

 poor little Greenlander is not very fond of his new guest ; however, 

 he makes a virtue of necessity, and hospitably rows him to shore. 



As this animal lives chiefly upon fish, seals, and dead whales, it 

 seldom removes far from the shore. When forced by hunger, it often 

 ventures into the deep, swims after seals, and devours whatever it can 

 seize ; it is, however, but a bad swimmer, and is often hunted in this 

 manner by boats till it is fatigued, and at last destroyed. It often 

 happens that a battle ensues between a bear and a morse or a whalq 

 but as the latter are more expert in their own element, they generally 

 prove victorious. However, when the bear can find a young whalq, 

 it repays him for the danger he incurs of meeting with the parent. 



CHAPTER X. 



THE BADGER. 



THE Badger's legs are so short, that its belly seems to touch the 

 gvund ; this, however, is but a deceitful appearance, as it is caused by 

 thw length of the hair, which is very long all over the body, and makes 

 it ieem much more bulky than it really is. It is a solitary, stupid 

 aniinal, that finds refuge remote from man, and digs itself a deep hole 

 wilii great assiduity. It seems to avoid the light, and seldom quits its 

 retreat by day, only stealing out at night to find subsistence. It bur- 

 rows in the ground very easily, its legs being short and strong, and its 

 claws stiff and horny. As it continues to bury itself, it throws the 

 earth behind it, to a great distance, and thus forms to itself a winding 

 hole, at the bottom of which it remains in safety. As the fox is not 

 so expert at digging into the earth, it often takes possession of that 

 which has been quitted by the badger, and some say, forces it from its 

 retreat, by laying its excrements at the mouth of the badger's hole. 



This animal, however, is not long in making itself a new habitation, 

 from which it seldom ventures far, as it flies but slowly, and can find 

 safety only in the strength of its retreat. When it is surprised by the 

 dogs at some distance from its hole, it then combats with desperate re- 

 solution ; it falls upon its back, defends itself on every side, and sel- 

 dom dies unrevenged in the midst of its enemies. 



The Dadger, like the fox, is a carnivorous animal, and nothing that 

 has life can come amiss to it. It sleeps the greatest part of its time 

 arid thus, without being a voracious feeder, it still keeps fat, particu- 

 larly in winter. They always keep their hole very clean ; and when 

 the female brings forth, she makes a comfortable warm bed of hay, at 



