re him, which they saw was the wolverene.

Marengo, who swam near, now seized hold of the object, and pulled it
away from his master, who, calling to the dog to follow, struck out
towards a point where the bank was low and shelving. In a few minutes
Basil reached a landing-place, and shortly after Marengo arrived towing
the wolverene, which was speedily pulled out upon the bank, and carried,
or rather dragged, by Norman and Francois to the camp. Lucien brought
Basil's clothes, and all four once more assembled around the blazing
fire.

There is not a more hideous-looking animal in America than the
wolverene. His thick body and short stout legs, his shaggy coat and
bushy tail, but, above all, his long curving claws and doglike jaws,
give him a formidable appearance. His gait is low and skulking, and his
look bold and vicious. He walks somewhat like a bear, and his tracks
are often mistaken for those of that animal. Indians and hunters,
however, know the difference well. His hind-feet are plantigrade, that
is, they rest upon the ground from heel to toe; and his back curves like
the segment of a circle. He is fierce and extremely voracious--quite as
much so as the "glutton," of which he is the American representative.
No animal is more destructive to the small game, and he will also attack
and devour the larger kinds when he can get hold of them; but as he is
somewhat slow, he can only seize most of them by stratagem. It is a
common belief that he lies in wait upon trees and rocks to seize the
deer passing beneath. It has been also asserted that he places moss,
such as these animals feed upon, under his perch, in order to entice
them within reach; and it has been still further asserted, that the
arctic foxes assist him in his plans, by hunting the deer towards the
spot where he lies in wait, thus acting as his jackals. These
assertions have been made more particularly about his European cousin,
the "glutton," about whom other stories are told equally strange--one of
them, that he eats until scarce able to walk, and then draws his body
through a narrow space between two trees, in order to relieve himself
and get ready for a fresh meal. Buffon and others have given credence
to these tales upon the authority of one "Olaus Magnus," whose name,
from the circumstance, might be translated "great fibber." There is no
doubt, however, that the glutton is one of the most sagacious of
animals, and so, too, is the wolveren