32 VIKINGS OF TO-DAY 



dead near Hopedale, its skin ruined by festering 

 sores, which, on examination, showed the ends of the 

 black and white quills. It is very amusing to see 

 how easily it wards off an enemy by always turning 

 its back to him ! When the dog was tired out, the 

 porcupine went up the nearest tree, had a good meal, 

 and went to sleep on a bough. 



Black or " silver " fox skins are very valuable. 

 For one good black skin I have known 170 given 

 by a Russian nobleman. The average retail value of 

 silver fox skins is nearly 50. Now the cunning of 

 foxes is proverbial, but Cartwright tells us a story 

 of vulpine ingenuity in a marten. One day he was 

 going to travel a long distance, and desired to leave 

 a deposit of food for his return journey. He feared 

 to bury it, because foxes would be sure to find it, so 

 climbing a tree he hung it by a string from one of 

 the branches. Shortly after a marten came along, 

 and espied the dainty morsel high over his head. 

 Whether he had watched old Cartwright climbing, 

 or whether it was an inspiration, the tale does not 

 say, but in any case it climbed the tree also, gnawed 

 through the string, and then, with an appetite 

 whetted by the exercise, had a square meal at its 

 leisure. 



Walking one day through thick wood we came 

 across a regulaV " pathway," the trees having been 

 felled to make (travelling easy. A glance at the 

 stumps showed that it was a road cut by beavers, 

 to enable them to drag their boughs of birch along 



