Quadrupeds. 7791 



and growing lighter as it proceeds, passes over the tops of the thighs 

 and ends at the root of the tail, giving the back of the animal almost 

 the appearance of an Esquimaux's tunic or shirt ; and it is possible 

 that these people may have borrowed their fashion from the wolverine, 

 whose fur is greatly in request among them. The colours of the head 

 are thus arranged : from the nose to between the eyes and around them 

 the hair is very short, and is almost quite black ; the forehead, ears, 

 cheeks and nape are of a brownish gray shade, which gradually 

 changes as it meets the darker tints and longer fur of the body ; from 

 the chin to the fore legs along the throat a black stripe of varied 

 breadth extends, broken with large blotches of white or orange-yellow ; 

 the belly is of the same shade as the back until near the anus, where a 

 spot of bright orange-yellow hairs extends to about four inches ; the 

 root half of the tail is light yellowish brown, and the top mostly black 

 without any mixture of white hairs. 



The legs and feet are black; there is a yellowish spot on the inner 

 side of the fore legs about half way down, and the fur of the soles is 

 of a hght brown tint ; the summer pelage is of a light colour, coarse 

 and thin. In some specimens the yellowish fringing of the sides and 

 rump is almost entirely white and of larger extent, leaving but a narrow 

 stripe on the centre of the back dark : in such the hoary markings of 

 the head would be of greater extent, and descend most probably to the 

 shoulders. 



In examining the skull of the wolverine the most striking points are 

 the shortness and broadness of its muzzle and the roundness of the 

 cranium, giving promise of acertain quantity ofreasoning powers, which 

 the nature and habits of this animal do certainly not belie. The entire 

 structure is massive, the skull and bones are thick and ponderous, and 

 the muscles of the neck and limbs of immense volume; indeed every 

 requisite is apparently united to form a beast of extraordinary strength, 

 and I do not wonder now at the almost fabulous feats, considering its 

 size, that it has performed. 



The habits and food of the wolverine are similar to those of the 

 marten ; it hunts birds, hares, mice, and will also occasionally kill 

 disabled animals of the deer kind ; but its greatest notoriety arises 

 from the mischief which it does to the caches of meat and trapping 

 roads, both of the natives and white residents. The strongest cdches, 

 built of green logs, and a foot in diameter and dove-tailed, it will 

 manage to effect an entrance into : after satisfying its hunger it is not 

 yet contented, but carries off the remainder of the pieces of meat, even 

 those weighing upwards of 100 lbs., transporting them to some distance 



