52 THE TRAPPER'S ART. 



Badger is nowhere numerous, except in a few localities on 

 this Continent. It is omnivorous, feeding chiefly on roots, 

 fruits, insects, and frogs. It also destroys the eggs and young 

 of partridges, and other birds which build their nests on the 

 ground. It is fond of the nests of wild bees, which it seeks 

 out and robs with impunity, its tough hide being comparatively 

 impervious to the stings of these insects. The Badger is a 

 quiet, inoffensive animal, except when attacked, when it is 

 a terrible antagonist to the dog or man who comes in contact 

 with its sharp teeth and formidable jaws. Its length is about 

 two feet six inches from the nose to the root of the tail. The 

 tail is short. The head is small, flat, and has a long snout. 

 The height at the shoulder is about eleven inches. The body 

 is broad and flat, as though compressed. The legs are sturdy 

 and powerful. The feet, before and behind, have each five 

 toes strongly set in the flesh, and armed with powerful, com- 

 pressed claws, adapted to burrowing in the ground, digging 

 for roots, and unearthing the marmot, ground-squirrel, and 

 other small, burrowing animals. 



The Badger chooses the most solitary woods for its resi- 

 dence. It lives in burrows, where it makes its nest and rears 

 its young. When pursued, it commences digging in the 

 earth, and, if pressed too closely to be able to hide by burrow- 

 ing, it makes a hole large enough to cover its body, backs into 

 it, and faces its pursuers with claws drawn in an attitude of 

 defiance ; and woe to the dog that attempts to dislodge it from 

 its fort! If it has time to get its body fairly buried, it is se- 

 cure from any dog, or even a man with a shovel, as it digs so 

 rapidly that it will work its way into the earth faster than dog 

 or man can follow. 



The fur of the Badger, when properly dressed, is said to 

 make the best pistol furniture, and the coarser hairs are used 

 for the fine brushes of the oil-painter. The hairs of the upper 

 part of the Badger's body individually have three distinct 

 colors : yellowish-white at the root, black in the middle, and 

 ashy-gray at the end. This gives a uniform sandy-gray color 

 to all the upper parts. The tail is furnished with long, coarse 

 hair of the same color and quality. The throat, under parts, 



