The wolverine has an exceedingly bad reputation among all men, white or
red, who make their living by trapping in the Far North. If one believed
the stories of some of the older Indians, one would think that the
animal had a superhuman intelligence added to a positive mania for
destruction.
To look at, the Wolverine is not very formidable. I heard, one day, a
white trapper describe him as an overgrown badger that could not grunt
quite as well as a pig but could climb trees far more easily than a
bear.
Discarding the exaggeration which generally goes with all tales
concerning the animal, there is no doubt that the Wolverine is very
cunning and is inclined to be mischevious as far as traps and supplies
are concerned.
[Illustration: A Wolverine]
I know of one authentic case where an Indian had to change his trap
lines; in fact, quit the country altogether and go elsewhere because of
a Wolverine who had made up his mind to dodge his footsteps all winter
and feed on his baits and game. That animal would follow the man’s
trail, starting a few hours behind him. Each time he got to a trap he
would find it, although the tell-tale signs had been brushed off the
snow. He would then, through smell, locate the chain, dig it up, jerk it
with his teeth, spring the trap and eat the bait.
For weeks the Indian tried to shoot that Wolverine, but failed. When the
man, knowing through experience that he was followed, turned back
suddenly in his footsteps or remained hidden on his own trail, the
Wolverine, sensing the danger, would stop and vanish for the time being.
As soon as the trapper proceeded on his way, the animal would follow and
resume his mischief.
Once in Labrador, I had a cache raided by a Wolverine during the summer.
We had left some grub, clothing and cooking utensils in a waterproof bag
securely lashed to the branch of a tree. When we returned, the bag was
gone. The Wolverine had managed to crawl down the branch and cut the
rope. After that he had torn everything open, eaten every piece of food
he could get his teeth in and destroyed or defiled all the clothing. But
what really made us mad was the fact that he had carried away and hidden
the tins of pork and beans and lard which he could not have opened
anyway, however strong were his jaws.
The only thing which we recovered intact was a brand new kettle—and then
we had to climb a tree for it. The Wolverine had carried it half way up
a spruce and left it wedged between two branches.