a few seconds he was half buried, and his
hind-quarters and tail alone remained above ground.

[Illustration: THE BLAIREAU AND THE MARMOTS]

He would soon have disappeared entirely, but at that moment the boys,
directed and headed by Norman, ran up the hill, and, seizing him by the
tail, endeavoured to jerk him back. That, however, was a task which they
could not accomplish, for first one and then another, and then Basil and
Norman--who were both strong boys--pulled with all their might, and
could not move him. Norman cautioned them against letting him go, as in
a moment's time he would burrow beyond their reach. So they held on
until Francois had got his gun ready. This the latter soon did, and a
load of small shot was fired into the blaireau's hips, which, although
it did not quite kill him, caused him to back out of the hole, and
brought him into the clutches of Marengo.

A desperate struggle ensued, which ended by the bloodhound doubling his
vast black muzzle upon the throat of the blaireau, and choking him to
death in less than a dozen seconds; and then his hide--the only part
which was deemed of any value--was taken off and carried to the camp.
The carcass was left upon the face of the hill, and the red shining
object was soon espied by the buzzards and turkey vultures, so that in a
few minutes' time several of these filthy birds were seen hovering
around, and alighting upon the hill.

But this was no new sight to our young voyageurs, and soon ceased to be
noticed by them. Another bird, of a different kind, for a short time
engaged their attention. It was a large hawk, which Lucien, as soon as
he saw it, pronounced to be one of the kind known as buzzards. Of these
there are several species in North America, but it is not to be supposed
that there is any resemblance between them and the buzzards just
mentioned as having alighted by the carcass of the blaireau. The latter,
commonly called "turkey buzzards," are true vultures, and feed mostly,
though not exclusively, on carrion; while the "hawk buzzards" have all
the appearance and general habits of the rest of the falcon tribe.

The one in question, Lucien said, was the "marsh-hawk," sometimes also
called the "hen-harrier." Norman stated that it was known among the
Indians of these parts as the "snake-bird," because it preys upon a
species of small green snake that is common on the plains of the
Saskatchewan, and of which it is fonder than of any other food.