186 FUR FACTS 



like quickness of the fisher. The skin of the wolverine is prized very 

 highly by the Esquimaux of Alaska, who use the fur as a trimming 

 around the face of their parkas. They claim that it is the only fur 

 on which the breath will not congeal and form icicles. This is probably 

 not entirely true, but at any rate for this reason very few of the 

 wolverine that are trapped in Alaska are sent out, being kept by the 

 natives for their own use. As a matter of fact wolverine are often 

 sent into Alaska by fur traders to be sold to the Indians, where the 

 Indian is prosperous enough to buy fur. 



The wolverine has a very strong coarse fur, and has a peculiar 

 light stripe or patch running down the sides of the back of a lighter 

 shade than the fur on the rest of the body. Its marking in a way 

 is Uke the skunk, except that the color of the wolverine is a dark 

 rich brown and the stripes are of a lighter shade. The tail is short 

 and brushy. It is seldom used in the manufacture of fine furs, but 

 is made principally into rugs and mats. 



There are very few wolverine in captivity and as far as the writer 

 knows no attempt has ever been made to domesticate the wolverine 

 and raise them for their fur, and it will probably not be a profitable 

 venture to attempt it, as they are very destructive and would be 

 hard to keep penned up. 



The wolverine is very hard to trap, and as a rule they are only 

 taken by the Indians who are familiar with their haunts, or by pro- 

 fessional trappers who become exasperated at the tricks of some 

 particularly devilish member of the wolverine tribe and set out with 

 the determination to rid their trap line of the pest and continual 

 trouble and loss of having their baits stolen and furs taken and 

 mutilated. However, the general rules for trapping fox would apply 

 to wolverine. 



