364 AMERICAN BADGER. 



cleanly in its habits. In the course of a few days it managed to dig 

 a hole under the hearth and fire-place nearly large and deep enough to 

 conceal its body, and we were obliged to drag it out by main force when- 

 ever we wished to examine it. It was provoked at the near approach of 

 any one, and growled continuously at all intruders. It was not, how- 

 ever, very vicious, and would suffer one or two of our companions to 

 handle and play -with it at times. 



At that period this Badger was about five months old, and was nearly 

 as large as a full grown Vood-chuck or ground-hog, {Arctoniys monax.) 

 Its fur was of the usual colour of summer pelage, and it was quite a 

 pretty looking animal. We concluded to bring it to New York alive, if 

 possible, and succeeded in doing so after much trouble, it having nearly 

 made its escape more than once. On one occasion when our boat was 

 made fast to the shore for the night, and we were about to make our 

 " camp," the Badger gnawed his way out of the box in which he was 

 confined, and began to range over the batteau ; we rose as speedily as 

 possible, and striking a light, commenced a chase after it with the aid of 

 one of the hands, and caught it by casting a buffalo robe over it. The 

 cage next day was wired, and bits of tin put in places where the wooden 

 bars had been gnawed through, so that the animal could not again easily 

 get out of its prison. After having become accustomed to the box, the 

 Badger became quite playful and took exercise by rolling himself rapidly 

 from one end to the other, and then back again with a reversed move- 

 ment, continuing this amusement sometimes for an hour or two. 



On arriving at our residenc? near New York we had a large box, tinned 

 on the inside, let into the ground about two feet and a half, and filled to 

 the same depth with earth. The Badger was put into it, and in a few 

 minutes made a hole, in which he seemed quite at home, and where he 

 passed most of his time during the winter, although he always came out 

 to take his food and water, and did not appear at all sluggish or inclined 

 to hibernate even when the weather Avas so cold as to make it necessary 

 to pour hot water into the pan that was placed within his cage, to enable 

 him to drink, as cold water would have frozen immediately, and in fact 

 the pan generally had a stratum of ice on the bottom which the hot 

 water dissolved when poured in at feeding-time. 



Our Badger was fed regularly, and soon grew very fat ; its coat 

 changed completely, became woolly and of a buflf-brown colour, and the 

 fur by the month of February had become indeed the most effectual pro- 

 tection against cold that can ■well be imagined. 



We saw none of these animals in our hunting expeditions while on 

 our journey up the Missouri River, and observed only a few burrowing 



