480 BIG GAME OF NORTH AMERICA. 



at any time, as the following partial comparative record of 

 Hudson's Bay Company's sales conclusively shows: "Sa- 

 bles, four millions; minks, two and a half millions; otters, 

 one and a half millions; Wolverines, one hundred thou- 

 sand." 



Except when some overwise old Wolverine has taken a 

 contract to persistently destroy their traps, the Hudson's 

 Bay trappers do not make them a particular object of pur- 

 suit, on account of their extreme cunning, and scarcity, 

 and their mid-rank in value among fur-bearing animals. 

 When, too, w^e consider that the severe winters, and insect 

 pests at other seasons, keep all save a few hardy adventur- 

 ers from invading its domain; that only the outlying dis- 

 tricts receive nocturnal visits from the animal when it is on 

 the verge of starvation, and that until recently the outskirts 

 of its territory have been free from railroad encroachments, 

 we see why the few sober and reliable articles upon this 

 species have failed to dispel the mystery and exaggeration 

 of centuries. 



In Northern Europe and Asia, the animal is generally 

 known as the Glutton, the term Wolverine being an Ameri- 

 canism of the eighteenth century. 



Owing to the difficulty of getting reliable data, nearly 

 every country or tribe has seen fit to invest the animal with 

 a name which, in the opinion of the original investigators, 

 had some distinguishing reference to the supposed form 

 or character of the beast; but, in addition to Wolverine 

 and Glutton, the only one not substantially local is the 

 French Canadian Carcajou, which is also well known to 

 residents of portions of British America and ,tlie United 

 States. 



Until about the year 1850, the Glutton of Europe and 

 Asia w^as thought to differ materially from the American 

 Wolverine. Later investigation, however, has shown it to 

 be identical. The latest edition of AVebster s Unabridged 

 Dictionary is not at all clear on this point. It not only 

 defines the Carcajou as "the American Badger," but 

 presents cuts showing the Glutton to be ejDicurean and 



