52 MAMMALIA. 



MUSTELA AMERICANA Turton. 

 Marten; American Sable; Pine Marten; Hudson s Bay Sable. 



The Marten is a common resident of the dark evergreen forests 

 of the Adirondacks, and hundreds of them are trapped here every 

 winter for their fur. Like the Fisher, it is chiefly nocturnal, but is 

 occasionally seen abroad by day. They prey upon partridges, rab- 

 bits, squirrels, chipmunks, mice, shrews, and any other ^' small game" 

 that they are smart enough to catch. Birds' eggs and young birds 

 are greedily devoured, and frogs and toads, and even our larger in- 

 sects, do not come amiss. It is said that they are exceedingly fond of 

 honey, but on how good authority I am unable to attest. They are 

 arboreal to such an extent that they are never found in districts de- 

 void of timber, and seem to show a predilection for coniferous forests. 

 Not only are they expert climbers, but they sport about amongst the 

 tree-tops, both in pursuit of game and pleasure, with the ease and 

 grace of squirrels. Preferring moss-covered logs and the seclusion 

 of deep evergreen woods to the beaten paths and stir of the settled 

 districts, or even the rude civilization of the hardy frontiersman, the 

 Marten avoids the clearings and habitations of man, and cannot be 

 reckoned among the depredators of the poultry-yard. 



It is one of the prettiest of North American mammals, but its dis- 

 position is sadly out of harmony with its attractive exterior. Mr. 

 John Constable has narrated to me a most interesting and vivid ac- 

 count of an affray that he once witnessed, in company with his 

 brother, Mr. Stevenson Constable, between a Marten and a Great 

 Northern Hare. The Marten, generally so meek and docile in ap- 

 pearance, assumed the savage mien and demeanor of a fierce tiger, 

 as it attacked and slew the luckless hare — an animal of several times 

 its own size and weight. And even after the poor hare was dead 

 the Marten's fury did not abate, and he angrily jerked and twisted the 

 lifeless body from side to side, as if to reek vengeance, for sins never 

 committed, upon the defenceless body of his innocent victim. So in- 



