146 WILD NEIGHBORS CHAY. 
stand against anything no bigger than a wolf, at 
least, without hesitation. But such encounters 
are no doubt rare, for he seems to have no enemy; 
that is, no beast, so far as I know, habitually preys 
upon or wars against him, though he must quarrel 
with a savage rival, now and then, and occasionally 
have to exert himself to overcome resistance by 
his victims. The only creature he has much 
reason to dread is the rattlesnake, and he proba- 
bly knows how to manage him, not to speak of 
the considerable protection his long coat and loose 
hide afford against harm from the serpent’s fangs. 
The animal’s strength is remarkable, measured 
otherwise than by its fossorial feats. Lying flat 
on its back, it rises with ease to a sitting posture, 
unaided by its fore paws. A captive one, less than 
two years old, would shove aside a loaded Saratoga 
trunk that it required two men to handle, and 
once moved a heavy kitchen range from the corner 
to the middle of the room. 
The badger feeds upon whatever animal food 
he can kill or catch that is not carrion. He may 
pounce upon a slow-moving snake, toad, or lizard; 
may creep up to the hare in its form, or to a bird 
upon its nest, and if he fail in the latter case, for 
he is not very spry, will console himself with a 
mess of eggs; even insects are acceptable, and 
captives take almost anything that is offered them, 
usually sitting up and holding the morsel in their 
paws like a squirrel. 
