THE WOLVERINE. 489 



Fortunately, there is nothing on record to show what these 

 hardy adventurers said when thus irritated, though we can 

 imagine it might sound better if told in an unknown 

 tongue. Very often they would capture the destroyer of 

 their equanimity and traps, but sometimes his cunning sur- 

 passed their best efforts, and they would abandon their 

 lines until their tormentor had found other pastures. 



The cunning, strength, and perseverance displayed by 

 these animals, and which will be referred to further on, is 

 so truly wonderful that we may well excuse the early writ- 

 ers their exaggeration. The posts composing the back of 

 the dead-fall were frequently pulled up and carried away, 

 the small sticks destroyed, the logs scattered, the clogs to 

 the steel-traps chewed in two, and the' traps and contents 

 carried for miles and buried in the snow. When Gulo 

 luscus had taken the danger out of the contrivance, he 

 would cheerfully eat the bait. By the way, this seems to 

 be his idea of a practical joke. Alas! were he addicted to 

 Latin and guava jelly, we might admit his instinct to reach 

 the borders of reason. 



For several reasons, he prefers to use, when traveling, the 

 trails of the marten-trappers; his legs are short, the snow 

 is deep, and often light, while his body is heavy. More- 

 over, the wise old Carcajou appears to like the idea of 

 matching the cunnitfg of his would-be captor, knowing, 

 probably from experience, just how and how not to get at 

 the baits. 



The Wolverine's long nocturnal journeys, in deep snow, 

 show his endurance, while his usual plethora is prima facie 

 evidence of success in foraging. It is true he has a keener 

 nose than the Fox; but how a carnivorous mammal so ener- 

 getic as the Gflutton can keep fat during the Arctic winters 

 is considerable of a mystery. His fare during the snowy 

 months is, generally speaking, limited to grouse and rab- 

 bits, and various fur-bearing animals, which he generally 

 steals after they have been trapped. Richardson says: " I 

 have seen one chasing an American hare which was at the 

 same time harassed by a snowy owl." At long intervals, 



