148 The Home of tJie Wolverene and Beaver. 



long distance, and the time for the rendezvous was 

 hardly yet expired. 



But Ihougli I have entered at length upon the 

 kind of trap in which the marten is captured, I 

 have said very little about the animal itself, and as 

 it forms one of the principal items in the fur trade 

 some slight account of its appearance and habits 

 will be in place here. 



The generic name of all the animals of this tribe, 

 namely the fisher, marten, mink, ermine, &c., is 

 Miistela or Weasel. Let us commence with the 

 fisher. 



This animal is known as Pennant's Marten by 

 naturalists, and by trappers as the Black Cat or 

 Fisher. Its scientific name is MiLstela Canadensis. 

 The head of the fisher somewhat resembles that of 

 a dog, and its body is long and admirably formed 

 for both agility and strength. The legs are short, 

 with strong, sharp, curved nails, and the toes on all 

 the feet are connected at the base by a short hairy 

 web, so that the callosities only make a slight im- 

 pression when the animal is walking or running on 

 the snow. The tail is long, bushy, and gradually 

 diminishing to a point towards the extremity. 

 The fisher possesses a strong smell of musk. The 

 general colour is a most beautiful chestnut brown, 

 in some specimens approaching to black. Its 



