THE WOLVERINE. 483 



Perhaps the most prominent and distinguishing external 

 feature is the stubby tail, which is covered with soft, dark 

 hair seven- inches long. This, while soft and inclined to 

 droop, is still remarkably fluffy and bushy, the impression, 

 at first sight, being that something droll or defective has 

 been dressed in gorgeous raiment. 



On account of the feet being semi-plantigrade, its gait 

 approaches the awkward and shambling walk of the Bear, 

 which, together with its short and thick legs, conveys the 

 idea of great strength. 



The fine and valuable fur is partially concealed by a 

 growth of coarse hair, which attains a length of four inches 

 along the sides and hips. Like some of the other fur- 

 bearers, the anal glands contain a very unsavory liquid, as 

 the subjoined narrative of an experience of Captain James 

 Ross will show: 



' ' At Victoria Harbor, in the middle of the winter, two 

 or three months before we abandoned the ship, we' were 

 one day surprised by a visit by one (Wolverine), which, 

 pressed hard by hunger, had climbed the snow-wall which 

 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 canis- 

 ter which had some meat in it, and was in so ravenous a 

 state that, while busily engaged at his feast, he suffered me 

 to pass a noose over his head, by which he was immediately 

 secured and strangled. By discharging the contents of two 

 secretory organs, he emitted a most insupportable stench. 

 These secretory vessels are about the size of a walnut, and 

 discharge a fluid of a yellowish-brown color and of the 

 consistence of honey." 



The claws of the Wolverine a£e horn-colored, inclining 

 to whitish, and about an inch l'ong. Johnson's Natural 

 History says: " The women of Kamchatka use the white 

 paws of this animal in dressing their hair." As the paws 

 are black, the intention is not clear. 



There is considerable variation in the light colors of the 

 body. A light-colored stripe, varying from reddish-brown 



