138 CANADIAN WILDS. 



marten and 96 fisher. This was impressed on 

 my memory as being a strange coincidence, be- 

 cause the post I had been previously stationed 

 ett turned out over two thousand marten to eight 

 or ten fisher. The prices for fisher in the Cana- 

 dian market vary but little and we never have 

 fluctuations as in silver foxes and marten. The 

 skins are little used in any country except Rus- 

 sia and China, where they are used chiefly by 

 the rich as coat linings. As they have a tough 

 skin, and when prime a deep, rich fur, it is a 

 wonder since they are comparatively few on 

 the market that they do not command a bet- 

 ter price. 



The resort of the pekan is principally along 

 the mountain ranges, never in the black spruce 

 or flat barren country of the table land or to 

 the north of it. Their food consists of rabbits, 

 partridges, mice, squirrels and fruit when in 

 season. When the mountain ash berries are 

 plentiful and hang late in the autumn, both the 

 fisher and the marten are difficult, if not impos- 

 sible, to trap, as there is no meat lure you can 

 bait with, that will induce them to leave the 

 berries. 



In a year of scarcity of fruits, when the 

 fisher has to depend on his own adroitness in 

 securing his food, I have read the signs and 



