en 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 wolverene. The latter gives
proof of this by many of his habits; one in particular fully illustrates
his cunning. It is this.

The marten trappers of the Hudson Bay territory set their traps in the
snow, often extending over a line of fifty miles. These traps are
constructed out of pieces of wood found near the spot, and are baited
with the heads of partridges, or pieces of venison, of which the marten
is very fond. As soon as the marten seizes the bait, a trigger is
touched, and a heavy piece of wood falling upon the animal, crushes or
holds it fast. Now the wolverene _enters the trap from behind_, tears
the back out of it before touching the bait, and thus avoids the falling
log! Moreover, he will follow the tracks of the trapper from one to
another, until he has destroyed the whole line.

Should a marten happen to have been before him, and got caught in the
trap, he rarely ever eats it, as he is not fond of its flesh. But he is
not satisfied to leave it as he finds it. He usually digs it from under
the log, tears it to pieces, and then buries it under the snow. The
foxes, who are well aware of this habit, and who themselves greedily eat
the marten, are frequently seen following him upon such excursions. They
are not strong enough to take the log from off the trapped animal, but
from their keen scent can soon find it where the other has buried it in
the snow. In this way, instead of their being providers for the
wolverene, the reverse is the true story. Notwithstanding, the wolverene
will eat _them_ too, whenever he can get his claws upon them; but as
they are much swifter than he, this seldom happens.

The foxes, however, are themselves taken in traps, or more commonly shot
by guns set for the purpose, with the bait attached by a string to the
trigger. Often the wolverene, finding the foxes dead or wounded, makes a
meal of them before the hunter comes alon