48 



MAMMALIA. 



ness. Dr. DeKay, writing in 1S42. said: "Although we have not 

 met with this animal, yet hunters who have killed them repeatedly, 

 and knew them well, have assured us that they are still found in the 

 districts north of Raquet Lake. "* 



Dr. Bachman killed one. about the year icSr t. in its den in a ledge 

 of rocks, in Rensselaer County. f 



This animal is the Carcajou of the Canadians. 



MUSTELA PENNANTI Erxleben. 

 Fisher; Pekan; Pennant' s Marten; '' Black Cat;" '' Black Fox." 



Though not so common as formerly, the Fisher, as it is here termed, 

 is by no means a rare inhabitant of these mountains. 



The name Fisher is somewhat of a misnomer, for these animals 

 commonly frequent deep swamps and wooded mountain-sides, away 

 from the immediate vicinage of water, and are not known to catch 

 fish for themselves as do the Mink and Otter. However, they are 

 fond of fish and never neglect to devour those that chance to fall in 

 their way. They prey chiefly upon hares, squirrels, mice, grouse, 

 small birds, and frogs, and are said to eat snakes. They also catch 

 and feed upon their own congener, the Marten, and make a practice 

 of devouring all that they discover in dead-falls and steel-traps, 

 thus proving almost as great a nuisance to the trapper as the Wol- 

 verine. It is said to be less objectionable than the Wolverine in one 

 particular : /. c. it leaves the traps where it finds them, while the other 

 blackleg often lugs them off and hides them. 



Sir John Richardson tells us that " its favorite food is the Canada 

 Porcupine, which it kills by biting in the belly." This habit, which 

 has been questioned, has recently received additional confirmation 

 from the pen of Corporal Lot Warfield. who writes of this animal, 

 from Weston, Vermont, stating his experience as follows : " I 

 agree with ' Penobscot' that they are not plenty, but account for it on 



* Zoology of New Vork, Part I, Mammals, 1842, p. 28. 



f Quadrupeds of North America, Vol. I, 1S46, pp. 207-208. 



