208 THE WOLVERENE. 



reaching the spot where the tracks had been observed, however, we met 

 a fresh trail of the previous night, and pursued it without loss of time. 

 The animal had joined some foxes which were feeding on a dead horse 

 not a hundred yards from a log cabin in the forest, and after having 

 satiated itself with this delicate food, made directly for the Hoosack 

 river, pursuing the same course along which we had formerly traced it. 

 To our surprise it did not cross the river, now firmly bound with ice, 

 but retired to its burrow, which was not far from the place ■where 

 we had a few weeks before abandoned the pursuit of it. The hounds 

 had not once broke into full cry upon the track, but no sooner had they 

 arrived at the mouth of the burrow than they rushed into the large 

 opening between the rocks, and commenced a furious attack on the ani- 

 mal within. This lasted but for a few moments, and they came out as 

 quickly as they had entered. They showed some evidence of having 

 been exposed to sharp claws and teeth, and although they had been only 

 a moment engaged in battle, had no disposition to renew it. No effort 

 of ours could induce them to re-enter the cavern whilst their furious 

 barking at the mouth of the hole was answered by a growl from within. 

 The animal, although not ten feet from the entrance, could not be easily 

 reached with a stick on account of his having retreated behind an angle 

 in the chasm. As vre felt no particular disposition to imitate the ex- 

 ploits of Colonel Pdtnam in his rencontre with the wolf, we reluc- 

 tantly concluded to trudge homeward through the snow, a distance of 

 five miles, to obtain assistance. On taking another survey of the place, 

 how^ever, we conceived it possible to effect an opening on one of its sides. 

 This was after great labour accomplished by prying away some heavy 

 fragments of the rock. The animal could now be reached with a pole, 

 and seemed very much irritated, growling and snapping at the stick, 

 which he once succeeded in tearing from our hand, all the while emitting 

 a strong and very offensive musky smell. He was finally shot. What 

 was our surprise and pleasure on discovering that we had, not a bear, 

 but what was more valuable to us, a nevir species of quadruped, as we 

 believed it to be. It was six months before we w^ere enabled, by consult- 

 ing a copy of BuFFON, to discover our mistake and ascertain that our 

 highly prized specimen was the Glutton, of which we had read such mar- 

 vellous tales in the school-books. 



In some of the figures that we have seen of the Wolverene, or Glutton, 

 he is represented as touching the ground to the full extent of his heel, and 

 in several of the descriptions this habit is also assigned to him. Our 

 notes, in reference to this point were made in early life, and it is possible 

 that we may have laboured under a mistake ; but we are confident, from 



