CHAPTER XIV.
A PAIR OF DEEP DIVERS.
THE wapiti was carefully skinned, and the skin spread out to dry. Sincetheir mishap our voyageurs had been very short of clothing. The threeskins of the woodland caribou had made only a pair of jackets, insteadof full hunting-shirts, and even these were pinched fits. For beds andbed-clothes they had nothing but the hides of buffaloes, and these,although good as far as they went, were only enough for two. Lucien, themost delicate of the party, appropriated one, as the others insistedupon his so doing. Francois had the other.
As for Basil and Norman, they were forced each night to lie upon thenaked earth, and but for the large fires which they kept blazing all thenight, they would have suffered severely from cold. Indeed, they didsuffer quite enough; for some of the nights were so cold, that it wasimpossible to sleep by the largest fire without one-half of their bodiesfeeling chilled. The usual practice with travellers in the West is tolie with their feet to the fire, while the head is at the greatestdistance from it. This is considered the best mode, for so long as thefeet are warm, the rest of the body will not suffer badly; but, on thecontrary, if the feet are allowed to get cold, no matter what state theother parts be in, it is impossible to sleep with comfort.
Of course our young voyageurs followed the well-known practice of thecountry, and lay with their feet to the fire in such a manner that, whenall were placed, their bodies formed four radii of a circle, of whichthe fire was the centre. Marengo usually lay beside Basil, whom helooked upon as his proper master.
Notwithstanding a bed of grass and leaves which they each night spreadfor themselves, they were sadly in want of blankets, and therefore theskin of the wapiti, which was a very fine one, would be a welcomeaddition to their stock of bedding. They resolved, therefore, to remainone day where they had killed it, so that the skin might be dried andreceive a partial dressing. Moreover, they intended to "jerk" some ofthe meat--although elk-venison is not considered very palatable whereother meat can be had. It is without juice, and resembles dryshort-grained beef more than venison. For this reason it is looked uponby both Indians and white hunters as inferior to buffalo, moose,caribou, or even the common deer. One peculiarity of the flesh of thisanimal is, that the fat becomes hard the moment it is taken off thefire. It freezes upon the lips like suet, and clings around the teeth ofa person eating it, which is not the case with that of other species ofdeer.
The skin of the wapiti, however, is held in high esteem among theIndians. It is thinner than that of the moose, but makes a much betterarticle 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 andpliable as a kid-glove, and will wash and dry without stiffening likechamois leather. That is a great advantage which it has, in the eyes ofthe Indians, over the skins of other species of deer, as the moose andcaribou--for the leather made from these, after a wetting, becomes harshand 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 itas 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 giveit such a dressing as the circumstances might allow. It was spread outon a frame of willow-poles, and set up in front of the fire, to bescraped at intervals and cleared of the fatty matter, as well as thenumerous parasites that at this season adhere to the skins of thewapiti.
While Lucien was framing the skin, Basil and Norman occupied themselvesin cutting the choice pieces of the meat into thin slices and hangingthem up before the fire. This job being finished, all sat down to watchLucien currying his hide.
"Ho, boys!" cried Francois, starting up as if something had occurred tohim; "what about the wolverene? It's a splendid skin--why not get ittoo?"
"True enough," replied Norman, "we had forgotten that. But the beast'sgone to the bottom--how can we get at him?"
"Why, fish him up, to be sure," said Francois. "Let's splice one ofthese willow-poles to my ram rod, and I'll screw it into him, and drawhim to the surface in a jiffy. Come!"
"We must get the canoe round, then," said Norman. "The bank's too steepfor us to reach him without it."
"Of course," assented Francois, at the same time going towards thewillows; "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 bluffwhere they had shot the wolverene. All of them followed him as well asMarengo, who bounded triumphantly from side to side, knowing he waswanted 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 cariboujacket, then his striped cotton shirt, then his under-shirt of fawnskin, and, lastly, his trousers, leggings, and mocassins. He was now asnaked as Adam.
"I'll show you, cousin," said he, addressing himself to Norman, "how wetake the water down there on the Mississippi."
So saying, he stepped forward to the edge of the bluff; and havingcarefully noted the spot where the wolverene had gone down, turned tothe dog, and simply said,--
"Ho! Marengo! _Chez moi_!"
The dog answered with a whimper, and a look of intelligence which showedthat he understood his master's wish.
Basil again pointed to the lake, raised his arms over his head, placinghis palms close together, launched himself out into the air, and shotdown head-foremost into the water.
Marengo, uttering a loud bay, sprang after so quickly that the plungeswere almost simultaneous, and both master and dog were for some timehidden from view. The latter rose first, but it was a long time beforeBasil came to the surface--so long that Norman and the others werebeginning to feel uneasy, and to regard the water with some anxiety. Atlength, however, a spot was seen to bubble, several yards from where hehad 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 heavybody before him, which they saw was the wolverene.
Marengo, who swam near, now seized hold of the object, and pulled itaway from his master, who, calling to the dog to follow, struck outtowards a point where the bank was low and shelving. In a few minutesBasil reached a landing-place, and shortly after Marengo arrived towingthe wolverene, which was speedily pulled out upon the bank, and carried,or rather dragged, by Norman and Francois to the camp. Lucien broughtBasil's clothes, and all four once more assembled around the blazingfire.
There is not a more hideous-looking animal in America than thewolverene. His thick body and short stout legs, his shaggy coat andbushy tail, but, above all, his long curving claws and dog-like jaws,gave him a formidable appearance. His gait is low and skulking, and hislook bold and vicious. He walks somewhat like a bear, and his tracksare often mistaken for those of that animal. Indians and hunters,however, know the difference well. His hind feet are plantigrade, thatis, they rest upon the ground from heel to toe; and his back curves likethe segment of a circle. He is fierce and extremely voracious--quite asmuch so as the "glutton," of which he is the American representative.
No animal is more destructive to the small game, and he will also attackand devour the larger kinds when he can get hold of them; but as he issomewhat slow, he can only seize most of them by stratagem. It is acommon belief that he lies in wait upon trees and rocks to seize thedeer passing beneath. It has been also asserted that he places moss,such as these animals feed upon under his perch, in order to entice themwithin reach; and it has been still further asserted, that the arcticfoxes assist him in his plans, by hunting the deer towards the spotwhere he lies in wait, thus acting as his jackals.
These assertions have been made more particularly about his Europeancousi
n, the "glutton," about whom other stories are told equallystrange--one of them, that he eats until scarce able to walk, and thendraws his body through a narrow space between two trees, in order torelieve himself and get ready for a fresh meal. Buffon and others havegiven 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 mostsagacious of animals, and so, too, is the wolverene. The latter givesproof of this by many of his habits; one in particular fully illustrateshis cunning. It is this.
The marten trappers of the Hudson Bay territory set their traps in thesnow, often extending over a line of fifty miles. These traps areconstructed out of pieces of wood found near the spot, and are baitedwith the heads of partridges, or pieces of venison, of which the martenis very fond. As soon as the marten seizes the bait, a trigger istouched, and a heavy piece of wood falling upon the animal, crushes orholds it fast. Now the wolverene _enters the trap from behind_, tearsthe back out of it before touching the bait, and thus avoids the fallinglog! Moreover, he will follow the tracks of the trapper from one toanother, until he has destroyed the whole line.
Should a marten happen to have been before him, and got caught in thetrap, he rarely ever eats it, as he is not fond of its flesh. But he isnot satisfied to leave it as he finds it. He usually digs it from underthe log, tears it to pieces, and then buries it under the snow. Thefoxes, who are well aware of this habit, and who themselves greedily eatthe marten, are frequently seen following him upon such excursions. Theyare not strong enough to take the log from off the trapped animal, butfrom their keen scent can soon find it where the other has buried it inthe snow. In this way, instead of their being providers for thewolverene, the reverse is the true story. Notwithstanding, the wolverenewill eat _them_ too, whenever he can get his claws upon them; but asthey are much swifter than he, this seldom happens.
The foxes, however, are themselves taken in traps, or more commonly shotby guns set for the purpose, with the bait attached by a string to thetrigger. Often the wolverene, finding the foxes dead or wounded, makes ameal of them before the hunter comes along to examine his traps andguns. The wolverene kills many of the foxes while young, and sometimeson finding their burrow, widens it with his strong claws, and eats thewhole family in their nests. Even young wolves sometimes become hisprey. 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 favouritefood, and but that these creatures can escape him by taking to thewater--in which element he is not at all at home--he would soonexterminate their whole race. His great strength and acute scent enablehim to overcome almost every wild creature of the forest or prairie. Heis even said to be a full match for either the panther or the blackbear.
The wolverene lives in clefts of rock, or in hollow trees, where suchare to be found; but he is equally an inhabitant of the forest and theprairie. He is found in fertile districts, as well as in the most remotedeserts. His range is extensive, but he is properly a denizen of thecold and snowy regions. In the southern parts of the United States he isno longer known, though it is certain that he once lived there whenthose countries were inhabited by the beaver. North of latitude 40 deg. heranges perhaps to the pole itself, as traces of him have been found asfar as man has yet penetrated.
He is a solitary creature, and, like most predatory animals, a nocturnalprowler. The female brings forth two, sometimes three and four, at abirth. The cubs are of a cream colour, and only when full grown acquirethat dark brown hue, which in the extreme of winter often passes intoblack. The fur is not unlike that of the bear but is shorter-haired, andof less value than a bear-skin. Notwithstanding, it is an article oftrade with the Hudson's Bay Company, who procure many thousands of theskins annually.
The Canadian voyageurs call the wolverene "carcajou;" while among theOrkney and Scotch servants of the Hudson's Bay Company he is oftenerknown as the "quickhatch." It is supposed that both, these names arecorruptions of the Cree word _okee-coo-haw-gew_ (the name of thewolverene among the Indians of that tribe). Many words from the samelanguage have been adopted by both voyageurs and traders.
Those points in the natural history of the wolverene, that might becalled _scientific_, were imparted by Lucien, while Norman furnished theinformation about its habits. Norman knew the animal as one of the mostcommon in the "trade"; and in addition to what we have recorded, alsorelated many adventures and stories current among the voyageurs, inwhich this creature figures in quite as fanciful a manner as he does inthe works either of Olaus Magnus, or Count de Buffon.