M A R T E 



223 



iat are observable between one marten and another, 

 t least in so tar us the two observed varieties of 

 lurope, and those which answer to them in other 

 arts of the world, are concerned. 



The great esteem ia which the furs of this tribe of 

 nimals have been so long held, and the severe labour 

 hieh must be undergone in order to procure their 

 kins, have tended not a little to confuse the natural 

 istory of them. The quality and colour of the 

 ir are, of course, the properties upon which its 

 larket value depends ; and they consequently oc- 

 upv the foremost place in the thoughts both of the 

 unter and the dealer. With the exception of the 

 rmine, the skins of all the rest are not only esteemed 

 lore beautiful in proportion as they are darker, but 

 tiey are actually better in quality. For this reason 

 classification, according to colour, of the skins of 

 be very same animal is not only natural, but almost 

 ecessary. On the other hand, the labour that must 

 e undergone, in finding such small animals in the 

 filds, and the fact of the whole race being solitary 

 nimals, of which one only can be captured at a time, 

 enders the real hunting one of the least profitable 

 ccupations in which human beings can engage ; at 

 he. same time that it is one of the most severe, both 

 ti bodily labour and exposure to the weather. For 

 hese reasons the hunting of the fur animals can be 

 iractised only by persons of the very humblest class, 

 rho are incapable of doing anything better. Such 

 icrsons cannot be expected to have any knowledge 

 if the principles of natural history, or any desire to 

 iromote the practice of it ; and we require no other 

 iroof of this, than the fact that, with the exception 

 f one or two spirited agents in the wilds of Canada, 

 yhose occupation was much more that of purchasers 

 f furs than original procurers of them, the hunters of 

 nr animals, and the dealers in their skins, have added 

 lotliintr whatever to natural history. We have a 

 emarkable instance of this in the case of the chin- 

 hilla of the western slopes of the southern Andes. 

 Phe skins of these animals had been in common use 

 iy thousands for many years before any person in 

 iurope knew from what part of the world they came. 



In Siberia there is the same distinction made be- 

 ween the marten of the wild woods and the marten 

 if cultivated places, as there is in Europe. That 

 vhich has the latter habit often levies contributions 

 n poultry and pheasants, and slaughters away, so 

 hat it kills a great number in a night. It is said 

 Jso sometimes to nestle in obscure corners about 

 larns and other outhouses, and in fact to have a 

 food deal of the habits of the weasel. Its fur is much 

 :ss esteemed than that of the marten of the woods, 

 ,nd therefore it is much less frequently sought after. 

 Some of the American martens differ considerably 

 rom those of Europe, at least in their colouring ; and 

 his will render a slight notice of one or two of them 

 lecessary. 



The Canada Marten, or Pekan, (M. Canadensis,} is 

 .bout the size of the martens of Europe, or perhaps a 

 ittle larger. It has the feet, the tail, the muzzle, and 

 he under part of the body deep reddish brown ; the 

 ars whitish, and the rest of the body greyish brown, 

 aried with black. It is understood to be subject to 

 ome seasonal variety of colour, and individuals also 

 lifter greatly, some being almost black on -the upper 

 >art. It occurs in considerable numbers in the coun- 

 ry after which it is named ; but its habits do not 

 iiffer materially from those of the others. 



The Huron Marten is another coloured variety, 

 differing considerably from the former. It is all over 

 of a bright pale brown, but with the paws and extre- 

 mity of the tail often darker than the rest. Hardly 

 any positive description of its colour can be given, 

 however, because it is subject to much variation. 

 This variety, (if indeed it is a variety, and not a mere 

 change of colour, produced by a different climate,) 

 appears to stand to the other Canada one in nearly 

 the same relation as the marten of the forest stands 

 to the marten of the fields in the eastern continent. 

 We are, however, so ignorant of the summer appear- 

 ance of the American fur animals, from the inaccessi- 

 bility of their country, except when it is frozen, as to 

 be unable to come to any positive conclusion with 

 regard to what is a species permanent for generations 

 in its character, and what is a variety incidental only 

 to the individual. 



It is when these animals are in their winter attire 

 that they are sought after ; and though they are 

 active at this time, it is by no means their character- 

 istic season, for the summer covering is to be 

 regarded as that most connected with the physiology 

 of the animal ; and unless this is as well known as 

 the other, we can come to no very safe conclusion of 

 such a nature as to satisfy the naturalist, how well 

 soever those winter distinctions may answer for com- 

 mercial purposes. 



The Sable (M. zibellma}. This is by far the most 

 highly esteemed of the whole genus of the true 

 martens, as it ranks higher among them than the 

 ermine does among polecats. In form and size 

 it does not differ greatly from the martens, and 

 there is also a slight resemblance in the character of 

 the fur, though that of the marten is very inferior in 

 all those qualities which are valued in furs. Though 

 the fact is sometimes stated otherwise, the teeth of 

 the sable are of exactly the same character as those 

 of the martens, which indicates the same kind of 

 living, and the capacity of partially subsisting upon* 

 vegetable matter when animal food is not to be 

 had. But there is one character of the sable which 

 points it out as belonging to a different locality, and 

 that is, the feet being completely covered with fur 

 down to the claws. Thus the sable is a more north- 

 erly animal than any of the martens, and an animal 

 much more of the wilds. Accordingly it is never 

 met with in warm places, but only in the extremes! 

 wilds of Siberia, beyond the positive forests, arid on 

 the margins of the polar ice. 



The skin of the sable is exceedingly valuable ; and 

 though the animal is a very small one, a single skin 

 fetches a large price. The animal is accordingly 

 sought after with the greatest assiduity, and it may be 

 said, that the desire of procuring sable skins has con- 

 duced more than anything else to the discovery of 

 the extreme north and north-east of Asia. It is 

 during winter that this hunting is carried on, and 

 it is described as being more severe than the hunt- 

 ing of the fur animals in America, because of the 

 vast accumulations of broken ice, covered with snow, 

 which skirt the shores of the sea, and contain between 

 them the most dangerous pitfalls, concealed by snow. 

 In America, the margin of the polar sea is no doubt 

 as wild in itself as it is in Asia ; but the American 

 hunting ground does not come up into so high lati- 

 tudes as the sable ground in Siberia ; and thus, 

 though the American hunter has long roads and 

 severe cold, he is not beset by so many dangers. 



