Audubon County Republican. [volume] (Audubon, Audubon Co., Iowa) 1885-1894, 1892-08-11
KILLING A WOLVERINE.

Sarah X Bolton, in New England Mag
aZine.
KILLING A WOLVERINE.
OF all the rapaciouS cunning and
! mischievous brutes | have ever met
with, the wolverine, called also car
cajou, and glutton is the worst: A
| thief robber and murderer he is the
| plague and torment OF northern trap
! pers. and an adverse factor always
when estimating the possible profits
/ Of fur hunting campaign. So wary
is he and so acute are his senses OF
| sight smell and hearing. that it is
well nigh impossible either to get
/ shot at him or entice him into trap.
He is not large animal seldom
weighing over forty pounds-neither
/ is he swift of foot nor even an agile
+ climber Told historians TO the con-
! trary, Notwithstanding but his
! strength to the uare inch is some.
thing amazing. What he lacks in size
/ is more than made up for by indus.
try, inleNibIe purpose Intelligence
and II provision of teeth and claws
which enables him to work greater
havoc in half an hour than many
larger beasts Of prey can effect in hall
day.
When | was boy Of fifteen years
, in the county of Peel Canada. was
an amateur trapper and depcnde for
/ pocket money on the sale of such
otter mink, fox, fisher raccoon,
! skunk and muSkrat skins as | man
aged to secure.
One morning. early in November, |
went out to visit my eight traps. set
in as many different places in the
woods and along the bank Of the
creek To my surprise | found six OF
them sprung and the bats gone But
all OF the six were not entirely empty.
In one was an otter's foot and in
three others remnants of mink's legs.
Two traps set II few inches below the
surface Of the water for muskrats,
had not been disturbed at all.
| In the backwOOds code Of morals.
/ rObbinG a hunters traps was then
looked upon as u more dcspicabIe
crime than stealing from his pockets.
Hence could think OF no one in the
neighbOrhood likely to have despOiled
mine nor why the thief should have
sprung the emuty ones and removed
their bats.
There had been a slight frost over.
light, rendering the Ground harI and
| could see no tracks of human beings
or dors anywhere, Nv and nv how.
ever while stoopinr down TO reset one
of the mink trans ne,r the soft odro
Of the creek, noticed in bed Of
dry, unfrozen sand several stranra
looking footprints - but bv what
creature made ruuId moi puoss
Clearly they were not those Of = 'coor
nor yet Of a Young bear ibonrb some.
what resembling both. thourht
knew the track Of every animal from
an elk to a chipmupk to he fopnd in
the country but this nre b,d cor
tainIy never before seen.
BESIDES those left in the trans the
only traces could find of NV Loaf
game were a few drops Of blood and
some tufts of (ur scattered o,u nm
old trail which led toward tbo base If
a great pile OF nearly inarcessihIn
rocks on a distant hill. Greatly nny.
lied over the whole mailer ran nY
homo and told nv father of the s,..rYo
occurrence.
After breakfast hc went with ma
down 10 the creek. and Instantly on
seeing the tracks sad. ..Tboso oro
made bv a wolverine had M i6eo
there9 was one left in This mart Of +ha
country
Then he told me all he knew If tho
animal and part Of that Inflammation
along with some | afterward gatbnrod
for myself, Ihave embodie in the fore.
going lines. NV father concluded nv
saving: .Youll ha no mora Ircy
trapping until this brute and hi. ,n,.a
if he has one nre bestowed. hrt
that's something easier to tail, nbont
than do
So. indeed found il pav alton
day and niuht n,ter night for two
whole weeks devoted myseIf soIoIv
TO the task Of trying n circun,.a,,
the CUNNING III :ef.witbont onco n,toh
inc SIGHT q. him some nfobts oon
Cealed myself gun in hand no,,. ono
or the other Of NV trans ,gain Iro,,II
lie in wait until davbrealr at tho fnot
of the rocks hoDino to oet ., shot ~
he went ont mr. came in II r,s ~
lost labor Whom watched tho t,.a" GU
tho haost navor o,r,o $500 ~. ~
When I st,vad oil piob, ~ ~ L;II
he unset and rohbed tban ~, H., IT, ','
nre. hut :, boir ~ bfrosn,t ~ -, 'o''.
showed ''''o'
Owned in ,boso d,,s haul
afraid of roIb.nr and rou,o,, '''""U'
the whole courtry siLo yan ~, .u "C'
inc mover. and liz s,,a,a',, - - ,.!I ''IN.
game aItborot Lit. ~ N'.,I"E
on,inst snnh nnnnaai;,, .'IV ouou
fstber ono dow ,no LN ~. oy my
roc,v mound Jo,orn,inad II nol W t"e
IN fra aYd ,InaantL , -, , i,' II pU9Sto'e,
nv, no,na ''' U'''O'oo' VI
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