Page:Hunting and trapping stories; a book for boys (IA huntingtrappings00pric).pdf/194

 The Badger is one of the best known of animals and in the United States it is found all the way from Southern Canada to the borders of Mexico. You will remember that Wisconsin is called the "Badger" State. But the rest of the world is not without its badgers too, for members of the family are found in England, throughout most of Europe, Persia, Japan, and there is an under-sized cousin in the Malay Archipelago.

The badgers are marked with black, white and gray in a striking manner. Their length is about thirty-six inches, including the tail. In the warmer climates they remain above ground throughout the year, but in the cold north they hibernate. Curiously enough they are flesh eaters, but not very successful hunters. They eat flesh when they find it.

Now the badger is a peaceful sort of an animal, but when roused it is very fierce. Years ago it was considered great sport to set terriers at a badger, and only a powerful stocky breed of the dog could be used. When a man is teased or bullied into doing something, people say he is "badgered."

One morning, collecting all the dogs, a motley crew as to breed, with half a dozen well built terriers among them, we set out to unearth a badger. We entered the woods and the dogs were soon on a hunt. We heard a great barking going on and found the whole pack surrounding the roots of a huge pine tree. The terriers soon got to work and in a few minutes out rushed a fox! It is not an uncommon thing find badgers and foxes living together. Apparently they do not interfere with each others mode of life.

Some of the larger dogs tore after the fox, but soon gave it up, for it got clean away from them. On the other hand the terriers saw their mistake in a few seconds, and they went at the burrow again with renewed vigor. Bye and bye one terrier disappeared entirely into the burrow and we heard a great scuffling going on inside, showing that a fight was in progress. The terrier soon appeared, but so terribly mangled that we were forced to shoot it.

The badger now made a dash for liberty. Immediately all the dogs tackled it and we expected to see the creature done for in a moment or two, but not so. The first terrier to attack in front was knocked out in prize fight fashion, by a butt of the head. Another, which had hung on to the badger's flanks, was driven off. The larger dogs hung back, so the brunt of the battle fell on the terriers. They fought over fifty yards of ground, first one getting the advantage and then the other. But numbers were begining to tell and at last the badger went under literally smothered by its enemies.

When the dogs were driven off we found that the badger was a big fellow, and had made one of the fiercest fights that we ever witnessed.