A Curious Case of Badger-Drawing . 183 



long trjing-poles showed that the "holt" ran horizon- 

 tally to a great distance, and laying it open from the 

 mouth ■would be a task entailing great labour, it was 

 determined to sink a vertical shaft instead. This was 

 done by dint of hard digging, and the underground 

 gallery reached, as it chanced, just midway between the 

 two dogs, both of which were found dead. The one near- 

 est the mouth of the burrow was jammed in a narrow 

 passage, from which it had vainly struggled to extricate 

 itself; while the other lay farther in, with open space 

 around sufficient for turning, yet alike lifeless; but on 

 neither was there mark of tooth or scratch of claw ! The 

 badger was also there, up at the extremity of the burrow, 

 from which it was unearthed and killed. 



Now, the question is, what killed the dogs ? The 

 one caught in the jam might have wriggled itself to 

 death ; but this hypothesis will not answer for the other, 

 which had room enougli to move about. And as there 

 was sufficient atmosphere around to keep their lungs sup- 

 plied, asphyxia will not explain it — unless it was produced 

 by some powerful effluvia emanating from the badger. 

 That this animal has the power of secreting a substance 

 of most disagreeable odour, and projecting it at will, is 

 well known ; therefore the theory of the dogs being 

 suffocated by it is not at all an absurd one — instead, plau- 

 sible enough. If not, then how came they by their death? 

 I can think of only one other cause — absolute fright at 

 finding themselves hopelessly entombed. But. that were 

 still more improbable. 



The badger was not one of the largest, scaling only 27 

 lbs. In my notes I have record of many weighing, at 

 least, a third more. 



