Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1902-02-20

rocity and of unsurpassed cunning, and
to read these accounts one would think
that n lion would have but small chance
for his life in combat with wolverine.
and as usually happened these early errors
were copied or even enlarged upon by the
writer's who followed Even the gr, at
Button, in his first account of this animal,
thus describes him: The defect of MINI
blencss he supplies with cunning: ne lies
In wait for animals as they pass, he Climbs
upon trees in order to dart upon his prey
ana seizes 1T with advantage ne throWS
himself down upon clks and reindeer ana
fixes so firmly on their bodies with MS
claws and teeth that nothing can remove
him. In vain do the poor victims NY ana
rub themselves against trees; the enemy,
attached to the crupper or neck coHtih-
ucs to suck their blood, to enlarge the
wound and to devour them gradually ana
with equal voracity till they fall down.
More Unsuitable and rapacious than the
wolf if endowed with equal agility, the
glutton would destroy all the other ami
mails; hut he moves so heavily that the
only animal he is able to ovcrtake in the
course is the beaver, whose cabin he some
times attacks, and devours the whole UNI
less they quickly take to the water, Tor
the beaver outstrips him in swimming.
When he pcrceivos that his prey has es-
capped. ~ seizes the fish. and when he can
find no other living creature to destroy,
he goes in quest of the dead, whom he
digs up from their graves and devours
with avidity.'
How very absurd this description is. is
apparent when one knows that the VOL
VERNE has not half the strength necessary
to bring down an elk or reindeer, and
that if he possessed the cunning lie was
credited with he would never waste his
time pulling down beaver houses, diffi
cult operation which could only result In
driving the beavers into the water whore
they would be quite out of his reach.
In reality there is nothing mysterious
in the way the glutton gets his living.
Like almost all the carnivorous animals
inhahiting the cold regions of the north,
he will eat the flesh of any animal ne can
get hold of. living or dead. He catches
wild mice and certain other small quad
rupeds and possibly grouse which have
plunged into the snow for protection from
the cold. But he is slow of foot and the
capture of northern hares or other feet
footed creatures would be quite out of the
question. But his principal food is
thought to consist of the flesh Of animals
which have been killed by accident as
great numbers of animals are killed oV-
crywhere. He is also said 10 destroy
great numbers of foxes at the time VIII II
The cubs are small He seeks out the
dcns, forces an entrance and kills both
the mother fox and her little ones. no
doubt he often catches very young mares
and rabbits. He has earned his name OF
'glutton" not only by eating large guam
titles of food but by boiling it hurriodly,
sometimes scarcely chewing it AT all.
But what has brought him into such III
ropute with the hunters is his habit OF
following them to rob their traps. n trap
per will walk for many miles. setting his
traps for beaver, martins arctic toN'
and other fur bearing animals and re-
turn the next day to find that A wolVer'
inc has upset all his calculations. The
glutton has followed the trail of the
woodsman. visiting trap after trap, skill
fully stealing the bait from some, and kill
ing and devouring the animals which have
been caught in others. But although ho
freouents the traps SO readily ne is MOI
easy to catch by any means. Tor ne Is
cunning and suspicious. and manages tt
keep out of trouble very nicely as n rue
The wolverine has been killed as fal
south as Rensselaer, county. New YORK
but it inhabits chiefly the northern couh
tries not only of America but OF Europe
and Asia.
n RAYNES