100 A CUNNING BEAST. 



caught, or hiding them away at some distance in the 

 woods, or even in the top branches of a pine-tree. He 

 will thus destroy a whole line of traps ; and this, appa- 

 rently, from sheer wantonness, as, unless when pressed 

 by hunger, he contents himself with merely tearing the 

 captured animal to pieces and hiding it out of sight. 

 No wonder, then, that the backwoodsmen cherish a 

 cordial hatred towards the wolverine, and compass its 

 destruction by every means in their power. So cunning, 

 however, is this beast, that it is almost impossible to 

 take it in a trap. It burrows underneath, and drags 

 off the bait without springing the trigger ; or if this 

 should happen, the log-weight falls harmlessly on the 

 ground. 



Sometimes poison has been found effective ; but here, 

 too, the sagacity of the animal enables him frequently 

 to detect the danger, and the bait is found by the 

 trapper untouched, or buried uneaten. Guns have been 

 set in vain, the string connected with the trigger having 

 been first gnawed across and the device rendered use- 

 less. The bait has then been safely devoured or carried 

 off. Pitfalls have been tried and found wanting. In 

 fact the resources of the wolverine are such that he is 

 fully a match for the most experienced trapper that 

 ever carried pack or rifle. 



To achieve the capture, therefore, of one of those 

 cunning beasts, is a good test of the hunter's skill and 

 ingenuity. Consequently the old trapper on the present 

 occasion felt himself on his mettle, and was determined 



