The wapiti was carefully skinned, and the skin spread out to dry. Since
their mishap our voyageurs had been very short of clothing. The three
skins of the woodland caribou had made only a pair of jackets, instead
of full hunting-shirts, and even these were pinched fits. For beds and
bed-clothes they had nothing but the hides of buffaloes, and these,
although good as far as they went, were only enough for two. Lucien,
the most delicate of the party, appropriated one, as the others insisted
upon his so doing. Francois had the other. As for Basil and Norman,
they were forced each night to lie upon the naked earth, and but for the
large fires which they kept blazing all the night, they would have
suffered severely from cold. Indeed, they did suffer quite enough; for
some of the nights were so cold, that it was impossible to sleep by the
largest fire without one-half of their bodies feeling chilled. The
usual practice with travellers in the Far West is to lie with their feet
to the fire, while the head is at the greatest distance from it. This
is considered the best mode, for so long as the feet are warm, the rest
of the body will not suffer badly; but, on the contrary, if the feet are
allowed to get cold, no matter what state the other parts be in, it is
impossible to sleep with comfort. Of course our young voyageurs
followed the well-known practice of the country, and lay with their feet
to the fire in such a manner that, when all were placed, their bodies
formed four radii of a circle, of which the fire was the centre.
Marengo usually lay beside Basil, whom he looked upon as his proper
master.
Notwithstanding a bed of grass and leaves which they each night spread
for themselves, they were sadly in want of blankets, and therefore the
skin of the wapiti, which was a very fine one, would be a welcome
addition to their stock of bedding. They resolved, therefore, to remain
one day where they had killed it, so that the skin might be dried and
receive a partial dressing. Moreover, they intended to "jerk" some of
the meat--although elk-venison is not considered very palatable where
other meat can be had. It is without juice, and resembles dry
short-grained beef more than venison. For this reason it is looked upon
by both Indians and white hunters as inferior to buffalo, moose,
caribou, or even the common deer. One peculiarity of the flesh of this
animal is, that the fat becomes hard the moment it is taken off the
fire. It freezes upon the lips like suet, and clings around the teeth
of a person eating it, which is not the case with that of other species
of deer. The skin of the wapiti, however, is held in high esteem among
the Indians. It is thinner than that of the moose, but makes a much
better article of leather. When dressed in the Indian fashion--that is
to say, soaked in a lather composed of the brains and fat of the animal
itself, and then washed, dried, scraped, and smoked--it becomes as soft
and pliable as a kid-glove, and will wash and dry without stiffening
like chamois leather. That is a great advantage which it has, in the
eyes of the Indians, over the skins of other species of deer, as the
moose and caribou--for the leather made from these, after a wetting,
becomes harsh and rigid and requires a great deal of rubbing to render
it soft again.
Lucien knew how to dress the elk-hide, and could make leather out of it
as well as any Indian squaw in the country. But travelling as they
were, there was not a good opportunity for that; so they were content to
give it such a dressing as the circumstances might allow. It was spread
out on a frame of willow-poles, and set up in front of the fire, to be
scraped at intervals and cleared of the fatty matter, as well as the
numerous parasites that at this season adhere to the skins of the
wapiti.
While Lucien was framing the skin, Basil and Norman occupied themselves
in cutting the choice pieces of the meat into thin slices and hanging
them up before the fire. This job being finished, all sat down to watch
Lucien currying his hide.
"Ho, boys!" cried Francois, starting up as if something had occurred to
him; "what about the wolverene? It's a splendid skin--why not get it
too?"
"True enough," replied Norman, "we had forgotten that. But the beasts
gone to the bottom--how can we get at him?"
"Why, fish him up, to be sure," said Francois. "Let's splice one of
these willow-poles to my ramrod, and I'll screw it into him, and draw
him to the surface in a jiffy. Come!"
"We must get the canoe round, then," said Norman. "The bank's too steep
for us to reach him without it."
"Of course," assented Francois, at the same time going towards the
willows; "get you the canoe into the water, while I cut the sapling."
"Stay!" cried Basil, "I'll show you a shorter method. Marengo!"
As Basil said this, he rose to his feet, and walked down to the bluff
where they had shot the wolverene. All of them followed him as well as
Marengo, who bounded triumphantly from side to side, knowing he was
wanted for some important enterprise.
"Do you expect the dog to fetch him out?" inquired Norman.
"No," replied Basil; "only to help."
"How?"
"Wait a moment--you shall see."
Basil flung down his 'coon-skin cap, and stripped off his caribou
jacket, then his striped cotton shirt, then his under-shirt of fawn
skin, and, lastly, his trousers, leggings, and mocassins. He was now as
naked as Adam.
"I'll show you, cousin," said he, addressing himself to Norman, "how we
take the water down there on the Mississippi."
So saying, he stepped forward to the edge of the bluff; and having
carefully noted the spot where the wolverene had gone down, turned to
the dog, and simply said--
"Ho! Marengo! _Chez moi_!" The dog answered with a whimper, and a
look of intelligence which showed that he understood his master's wish.
Basil again pointed to the lake, raised his arms over his head, placing
his palms close together, launched himself out into the air, and shot
down head-foremost into the water.
Marengo, uttering a loud bay, sprang after so quickly that the plunges
were almost simultaneous, and both master and dog were for some time
hidden from view. The latter rose first, but it was a long time before
Basil came to the surface--so long that Norman and the others were
beginning to feel uneasy, and to regard the water with some anxiety. At
length, however, a spot was seen to bubble, several yards from where he
had gone down, and the black head of Basil appeared above the surface.
It was seen that he held something in his teeth, and was pushing a heavy
body before 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 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 (_Mustela martes_) 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 along to examine his traps and guns. The
wolverene kills many of the foxes while young, and sometimes on finding
their burrow, widens it with his strong claws, and eats the whole family
in their nests. Even young wolves sometimes become his prey. He lives,
in fact, on very bad terms with both foxes and wolves, and often robs
the latter of a fat deer which they may have just killed, and are
preparing to dine upon. The beaver, however, is his favourite food, and
but that these creatures can escape him by taking to the water--in which
element he is not at all at home--he would soon exterminate their whole
race. His great strength and acute scent enable him to overcome almost
every wild creature of the forest or prairie. He is even said to be a
full match for either the panther or the black bear.
The wolverene lives in clefts of rock, or in hollow trees, where such
are to be found; but he is equally an inhabitant of the forest and the
prairie. He is found in fertile districts, as well as in the most
remote deserts. His range is extensive, but he is properly a denizen of
the cold and snowy regions. In the southern parts of the United States
he is no longer known, though it is certain that he once lived there
when those countries were inhabited by the beaver. North of latitude 40
degrees he ranges perhaps to the pole itself, as traces of him have been
found as far as man has yet penetrated. He is a solitary creature, and,
like most predatory animals, a nocturnal prowler. The female brings
forth two, sometimes three and four, at a birth. The cubs are of a
cream colour, and only when full-grown acquire that dark-brown hue,
which in the extreme of winter often passes into black. The fur is not
unlike that of the bear, but is shorter-haired, and of less value than a
bear-skin. Notwithstanding, it is an article of trade with the Hudson's
Bay Company, who procure many thousands of the skins annually.
The Canadian voyageurs call the wolverene "carcajou;" while among the
Orkney and Scotch servants of the Hudson's Bay Company he is oftener
known as the "quickhatch." It is supposed that both these names are
corruptions of the Cree word _okee-coo-haw-gew_ (the name of the
wolverene among the Indians of that tribe). Many words from the same
language have been adopted by both voyageurs and traders.
Those points in the natural history of the wolverene, that might be
called _scientific_, were imparted by Lucien, while Norman furnished the
information about its habits. Norman knew the animal as one of the most
common in the "trade"; and in addition to what we have recorded, also
related many adventures and stories current among the voyageurs, in
which this creature figures in quite as fanciful a manner, as he does in
the works either of Olaus Magnus, or Count de Buffon.