The Cordova daily times., 1916-07-24
BADGER BATTLE
 WITNESSED AT l ' M 'CARTHY

KENNECoTT, Alaska - One day last week the employees of the Ken necott Copper Corporation decided to entertain the private secretary of Mir. g. Birch, to the wonderful though fas-I cinating spectacle of savage battle between a badger and a dog. sf
 The gentlemen in question for whom all this entertainment of blood shed was provided is, by the way, new to Alaska, and therefore, at the time this battle was fought 1t is safe to say did not quite know the peculiar characteristics of both the men and the country
 Though the fight in question was made very exciting by the very large wagers on one or the other of the combatants. it was very tame, and what was even more surprising (to some) absolutely bloodless. It is also certain that any referee, even a fa- nous one, would have been decidedly | nonplussed in giving a decision of any kind whatsoever. The badger, | which was to encounter the best fight ! ing dog at Kennecott, was shipped di- rect from Strelna, and is, in that place, reputed to be an extremely bloodthirsty creature, having rendered every other badger. and in fact any animal that ever dared cross it's path hors de combat in shorter than record time This history accompanied the badger, and is vouched for by some old timers at Strelna. The badger seemed to be a pretty good age itself and was kept in starved or rather empty condition for several days in order to give it the impetus for a 1 fiercer fight. pr. Bunch was asked to release the monster, but declined the offer on account of having a very large wager on the outcome of the conflict, and preferred being on the ground to wit ness the fight. There were several other gentlemen among the spectators who were offered Dr. Bunch's job, but all of whom very cordially declined the l L other After a brief consultation be- | tween a party of the entertainers iti was decided that the private secretary | himself should have the honor of starting the fight Needless to say as the honor was so great, the offer was accepted in the same generous spirit in which it was rendered. The battle itself, which will long be remembered by one at least, did not last any great length of time on account of the poor fighting qualities of the badger, which had such a great reputation as killer. Although the proverb does not apply here, it Is nevertheless a case of empty vessels make the most noise" This is a brief description of the battle itself.
 The gentleman who was to release the badger first armed himself with very heavy bludgeon, in fact some say it was weighted with lead. This weapon was to be used to work off the badgers attacks in case 1t should assault its liberator. Having secured this means of life preservation, he mounted the long ladder with as much determination as any warrior could command going into battle. There he stood, a brave man, on the topmost rung of the ladder, from which the box containing the confined animal was suspended. and many even avow that they could see the thrills he was experiencing during the hushed si- lence preparatory to the opening of the trap and the glorious struggle of malamute and badger.
 All of a sudden the lid was raised and noisily hurtling to the ground came the much talked of badger By some chance or other the private sec retary did not see the badger when he opened the lid, but swears he heard 1t fall which is very probable, as testi- fled by everyone who witnessed this remarkable fight. From what have heard the badger fight is an unheard of thing in the east
 Note.-This badger belonged to a species of it's own, and everyone who