50 NOR.TH AMERICAN MUSTELID^. 



corresponding latitudes in California. Of this, 1 was assured 



by hunters whose statements I had no reason to doubt, and 



who were evidently acquainted with the species. But I could 



not confirm their statements by actual observation, and, for 



all that is positively known, the Salt Lake record remains the 



southernmost, excepting that very recently furnished by Mr. 



Allen {o^). cit.). He saw the skin of an individual taken in 



I the vicinity of Montgomery, Colo., near the limit of timber, 



and the animal was stated to be not uncommon. This locality 



is somewhat south of 40^, and the occurrence is strongly 



corroborative of the accounts 1 received, as just mentioned, 



I V I have myself lately seen a mounted specimen among a collec- 



:' / tion of animals made by Mrs. M. A. Maxwell, in the vicinity 



\ I of Boulder, Colo. I have no record from the region west of the 



\ ^ main chain of the Rockies in Oregon or Washington Territory, 



although it is not to be presumed, upon this negative evidence, 



that the species does not occur there. 



The Wolverene ranges, as we have seen, in greater or less 

 abundance, all over the northern portions of this country. It 

 appears to be particularly numerous in the Mackenzie River 

 region, and it fairly infests the whole country bordering the 

 lower portions of this river and the west side of the mountains. 

 From this country, many accounts have reached me, from vari- 

 our officers of the Hudson's Bay Company, through the liber- 

 ality of the Smithsonian Institution, which placed in my hands 

 all the matter represented in its archives upon the mammals of 



!the far north. These manuscripts witness the wqiiderful cun- 

 ning and sagacity of the beast, as well as its ferocity, and repre- 

 sent it to be the greatest enemy with which the hunters and 

 trappers have to contend in the pursuit of far-bearing animals. 

 Messrs. Kennicott, Macfarlane, Ross, and Lockhart have each 

 recorded their experiences, which together afford the material 

 for a complete biography. 



The hunter, says Mr. Lockhart, may safely leave an animal 

 he has killed for one night, but never for a second time, with- 

 out placing it in a strong cache of logs. The first night the 

 , Wolverene is pretty sure to visit the place, but will touch 

 nothing. The next night he is certain to return, and, if he can 

 i:)0ssibly get at the meat, he will gorge himself, and then make 

 away with the rest, which he cunningly hides, piece by piece, 

 under the snow, in diff'erent directions. At every cache he 

 makes he voids his urine or drops his dirt, probably to prevent 



