1129 



GULO. 



GULO. 



1130 



the Bears, treat the Glutton of the old and that of the new continent 

 as identical ; and indeed zoologists seem now to agree in coming to 

 that conclusion, but the synonyms afford good evidence of the 

 difference of opinion that has prevailed with regard to its proper 

 position. 



The Glutton (Gulo luscui) is the Carcajou of La Hontau and the 

 French Canadians; Quickhatch (Ursula affinis Americana) of Catesby 

 (Carolina) ; Quickehatch of the English residents at Hudson's Bay ; 

 Quickhatch, or Wolverene, of Ellis ; Wolverene of Pennant ; Wolverin, 

 Quiquihatch, or Carcajou, of Graham (manuscripts) ; Kablee-arioo of 

 the Esquimaux of Melville Peninsula ; Ks 6 week of the Esquimaux 

 of Boothia Felix ; Naghai-eh of the Chippeways ; Ommeethataees, 

 Okeecoohagew, and Okeecoohawgees (whence, as Sir John Richardson 

 observes, the term Quickhatch of the European labourers in the 

 service of the Hudson's Bay Company is evidently derived), of the 

 Crees, or Algonquins ; Rosomak of the Russians ; Jarf, Filfress, of the 

 ' Fauna Suecica' ; Timmi of the Kamtschatkans; Haeppi of the Koratzki ; 

 Glouton of the French ; Gulo of Olaus Magnus ; Gulo, Vielfrass, of 

 Geaner ; Hycena and Urm Freti Hudsonis of Brisson ; Mustela Gulo 

 and Urnu Iwcut of Linnaeus; Uraus Gulo of Pallas and Gmelin; 

 Toxui Gulo of Tiedemann ; Gulo arcticus of Desmarest ; Gulo vulgaris 

 of Griffith's Cuvier ; Gulo luscus of Sabine. 



Wolverene, or Glutton (Qulo htscvt]. 



Olaus Magnus seems to have been the source whence most succeed- 

 ing writers have drawn their marvellous accounts of the Glutton, 

 setting forth its cruel and destructive powers, its inordinate voracity, 

 and the means which it adopts for filling itself till it is ready to burst, 

 and for getting rid of the load which it has swallowed. Buffon, who, 

 too prone to censure other writers, and even nature herself, appears 

 to have had almost the appetite of a Pliny for every wonderful tale, 

 eloquently presents the relations of the older writers, not forgetting 

 Ysbrandt, describing the Glutton as a ferocious animal, prompt to 

 attack the larger quadrupeds, and even fearlessly approaching man. 

 He tells us that the wily beast supplies the want of swiftness by the 

 extraordinary degree of cunning which it manifests in surprising its 

 prey ; he relates how it will climb a tree, and there lie in ambush 

 for the elk and the rein-deer, pouncing on their backs as they pass 

 unsuspiciously beneath, and adhering so firmly by its claws, that all 

 efforts to dislodge the grim rider by the tortured and terrified animal 

 are vain. Nor is this all ; it is said even to bait the ground by 

 throwing down the moss which is so favourite a morsel with the rein- 

 deer to lure that animal to its destruction. So much for legends. 

 Turn we now to the accounts of actual observers. Sir John Richard- 

 son remarks that this character of the Glutton seems to be entirely 

 fictitious, and to have partly originated in the name of Glutton having 

 been given occasionally to Lynxes and Sloths, adding, after recap- 

 itulating it, that it is very dissimilar to the habits of the American 

 Wolverene. 



Buffon's name of the ' Quadruped Vulture,' as applicable to the 

 Glutton, has more foundation in fact, for it appears to prey occasion- 

 ally at least upon the dead bodies of quadrupeds ; but so much 

 cannot be said for his repetition of the assertion that, the beast will 

 approach man without fear unless indeed it is sorely pressed by 



on Richardson states that the Wolverene feeds chiefly upon 

 the carcasses of beasts which have been killed by accident, that it has 

 treat strength, and that it annoys the natives by destroying their 

 hoards of provision, and demolishing their marten traps. 



Mr Graham in his manuscripts informs us that the Wolverenes are 

 extremely mischievous, and that they do more damage to the small 



fur trade than all the other animals conjointly. They will, he states, 

 follow the marten-hunter's path round a line of traps extending 

 40, 50, or 60 miles, and render the whole unserviceable, merely to 

 come at the baits, which are generally the head of a partridge or a 

 bit of dried venison. They are not fond of the martens themselves, 

 but never fail of tearing them in pieces or of burying them in the 

 snow by the side of the path, at a considerable distance from the trap. 

 Drifts of snow often conceal the repositories thus made of the martens 

 at the expense of the hunter, in which case they furnish a regale for 

 the hungry fox, whose sagacious nostril guides him unerringly to the 

 spot ; and two or three foxes are often seen following the Wolverene 

 for this purpose. 



Such is Mr. Graham's interesting and, we believe, faithful account 

 of the hab'ts of the Wolverene. May not the attendant foxes have 

 given rise to the story that the arctic fox is the jackal, or provider 

 of the Glutton ? 



Sir John Richardson says of the Glutton, " It is so suspicious, that 

 it will rarely enter a trap itself, but beginning behind, pulls it to 

 pieces, scatters the logs of which it is built, and then carries off the 

 bait. It feeds also on meadow mice, marmots, and other' rodentia, 

 and occasionally on disabled quadrupeds of a larger size. I have seen 

 one chasing an American hare, which was at the same time harassed 

 by a snowy owl. It resembles the bear in its gait, and is not fleet ; 

 but it is very industrious, and no doubt feeds well, as it is generally 

 fat. It is much abroad in the winter, and the track of its journey in 

 a single night may be often traced for many miles. From the short- 

 ness of its legs, it makes its way through loose snow with difficulty, 

 but when it falls upon the beaten track of a marten-trapper, it will 

 pursue it for a long way." (' Fauna Boreali- Americana.') The same 

 author remarks that the Wolverene is said to be a great destroyer of 

 beavers, but that it must be only in summer, when those industrious 

 animals are at work on laud that it can surprise them ; for an attempt 

 to break open their house in winter, even supposing it possible for the 

 claws of a Wolverene to penetrate the thick mud-walls when frozen 

 as hard as stone, would only have the effect of driving the beavers 

 into the water to seek for shelter in their vaults on the borders of the 

 dam. He further tells us that though the Wolverene is reported to 

 defend itself with boldness and success against the attack of other 

 quadrupeds, it flies from the face of man, and makes but a poor fight 

 with a hunter, who requires no other arms than a stick to kill it. 



Captain Sir James Ross (Appendix to Sir John Ross's ' Last 

 Voyage") gives a striking narrative of the boldness of the species 

 when urged by famine. The incident happened at Victoria harbour. 

 " There," writes the gallant captain, " in the middle of the winter, 

 two or three months before we abandoned the ship, we were one day 

 surprised by a visit from one, which, pressed hard by hunger, had 

 climbed the snow-wall that surrounded our vessel, and came boldly 

 on deck, where our crew were walking for exercise. Undismayed at 

 the presence of twelve or fourteen men, he seized upon a canister 

 which had some meat in it, and was in so ravenous a state that whilst 

 busily engaged at his feast he suffered me to pass a noose over his 

 head, by which he was immediately secured and strangled. By dis- 

 charging the contents of two secretory organs, it emitted a most 

 insupportable stench. These secretory vessels are about the size of 

 a walnut, and discharge a fluid of a yellowish-brown colour, and of 

 the consistence of honey, by the rectum, when hard pressed by its 

 enemies." 



The Wolverene produces young once a year, in number from two 

 to four, and the cubs are covered with a downy fur of a pale cream 

 colour. (Richardson.) 



It is found throughout the whole northern parts of the American 

 Continent, from the coast of Labrador and Davis's Straits to the 

 shores of the Pacific and the islands of Alaska. It even visits the 

 islands of the Polar Sea, its bones having been found in Melville 

 Island, nearly in latitude 75. It is not rare in Canada. The extent 

 of range to the southward is not mentioned by American writers. 

 (Richardson.) 



Sir James Ross remarks that some traces of the existence of 

 the Wolverene in the highest northern latitudes were observed 

 on two of the Arctic expeditions : but none of the animals were 

 seen on those occasions ; although, he observes, we know that it 

 remains throughout the winter as far north as 70 N. lat., and is not, 

 like other animals of that rigorous climate, subject to any change of 

 colour from the intense cold. A few days previous to the arrival of 

 the Esquimaux near Felix. Harbour, in January 1830, the tracks of 

 this animal were first seen ; and soon after the skins of two old and 

 two young ones were brought to the ship by the natives, who had 

 taken them in traps built of stone. During each of the following 

 winters their tracks were occasionally seen, and at Victoria Harbour 

 they were very numerous. 



Pennant notes it as inhabiting Lapland, the northern and eastern 

 parts of Siberia, and Kamtschatka. 



Lesson states that it inhabits a complete circle round the north pole, 

 in Europe and Asia, as well as America. 



We have seen what mischief the Glutton does to the trapper, and 

 the skin of the animal does not compensate for its destructive habits. 

 Pennant says that the skin sold in Siberia for four or six shillmss ; at 

 Yakutsk for twelve shillings ; and still dearer in Kamtschatka, where 



