Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1890-06-02
VERY RARE PRIZES.
Two Rocky Mount IN Wolverines Arrive
Philadelphia, the Reward of SIX
Years. Hunt.
Philadelphia Inquirer.

Years. Hunt.
Philadelphia Inquirer.
There was celebration at the zooloel
zeal gardens yesterday in keeping wild
the arrival Of a pair of very valuabj
animals about whose ferocity there havI
been told so many marvellous stories !
The newcomers we're hardy and well dc
veloped representatives of the rarest auS
NAL in captivity. They are wolverinel
from the Rocky mountains.
They will greatly enrich the EXTENSIVE
collections of beasts and birds which
make the Geological gardens a paradil
to the deFotees of natural history. Thf
arrival OF the strangers was the consumI
nation OF six years of labor on the par
of Superintendent Brown, and Head
Keeper Byrne and Secretary Carson acted
as though they had attained great height
whom the strangers came in q strong boz
by express. A stout cage right near the
center of the garden, across the hill from
the bear pits, has been chosen as the fn-
ture home of the wolverines. They are
only six weeks old and scarcely q week
ago were running wild in the Rocky
mountains, protected by their parents.
Now they are orphans, and will be the
star attractions at the Zoo for some time.
They afe the only specimens in ,ths
world possessed by any geological %.
eietY. Many years ago there was one
owned by the London Gardens, but he i.
dead and, one year ago the Philadelphia
Gardens were cheated out of their treas
ure by the animal himself, who, rather
than submit TO captivity, committed
suicide. He Is mounted on a stand and
the absence of one foot tells the story O
how his natural ferocity stepped in ane
kept geological enthusiasts on the ragged
edge of expectation until THURSDAY
morning. The two youngsters now ir
the garden are splendid specimens of tn.
wolverine family.
Though but six weeks old they display
the fsroeness of their family to a degrees.
that justifies the superstition held by the
hunters and trappers in the mountain
wilds of North America. Two of th(
600 81 keepers have already felt the
edge of their sharp teeth, and to avoid
the poisons of the bite were compelled
to submit to the application of strong
acids to the raw wounds. Head keeper
Byrne regards them with wholesome re-
spect, and say they lay the bloo1thirstlsi
ness of the lions and tigers in the ;sGAde.
In appearance they resembles we'll
grown shepherd pups, only the body is
longer, the legs shorter and the head
very fierce-looking and lined with row
of sharp teeth. As they grow older
these teeth deYelop remarkably and the
jaws become massive and excessively
powerful. When full growth is Mt
tanned the wolverine is as large asa small
black bear, but fabulous stories, told with
religious sincerity, are related of his fe-
rocity. Hunters and trappers renowned
for their bravery, who would almost
laugh at . grizzly, will go miles out of
their way TO avoid chance encounter
with q wolverine. A celebrated West
ern hunter called at tho Zoo yesterday
and looked at the specimens with awe.
Six years ago Superintendent Brown
deputized q Chicago fur company to
instruct the trappers employed by them
to catch q wolverine. Ever since that
time they have tried in vain. The
wolverine is noted for ferocity that will
not brook captivity if trapped, and the
dead specimen that stands in the Office
proved 10 be one of the sturdiest of his
kind. He WAS caught in a steel trap,
but had almost severed his limb from the
body when discovered by the hunters.
He died from the injury, practically
suicide. A hunting party
In the Rockies came across four
wolverines by stroke Of good fortune.
They killed the two old ones, sud the
cubs are the two that are esteemed as
such prizes at the Zoo.
Ons Of their usual traits. which the