338 THE SABLE. 



to Mr. Jonelin for the first accurate description of its form and 

 nature. From him we learn that the Sable resembles the 

 Martin in form and size, and the Weasel in the number of 

 its teeth ; for it is to be observed, that whereas the Martin 

 has thirty-eight teeth, the Weasel has but thirty-four ; in this 

 respect, therefore, the Sable seems to make the shade between 

 these two animals ; being shaped like the one, and furnished 

 with teeth like the other. It is also furnished with very large 

 whiskers about the mouth ; its feet are broad, and, as in the 

 rest of its kind, furnished with five claws on each foot. These 

 are its constant marks ; but its fur, for which it is so much 

 valued, is not always the same. Some of these species are of 

 a dark brown over all the body, except the ears and the throat, 

 where the hair is rather yellow ; others are more of a yellowish 

 tincture, their ears and throat being also much paler. These, 

 in both, are the colors they have in winter, and which they 

 are seen to change in the beginning of the spring ; the former 

 becoming of a yellow brown, and the latter of a pale yellow. 

 In other respects they resemble their kind, in vivacity, agility, 

 and inquietude ; in sleeping by day, and seeking their prey 

 by night ; in living upon smaller animals, and the disagreeable 

 odor that chiefly characterizes their race. 



They generally inhabit along the banks of rivers, in shady 

 places, and in the thickest woods. They leap with great ease 

 from tree to tree, and are said to be afraid of the sun, which 

 tarnishes the lustre of their robes. They are chiefly hunted 

 in winter for their skins, during which part of the year they 

 are only in season. They are mostly found in Siberia, and 

 but very few in any other country of the world ; and this 

 scarcity it is which enhances their value. The hunting of 

 the Sable chiefly falls to the lot of the condemned criminals, 

 who are sent from Russia into these wild and extensive 

 forests, that, for the greatest part of the year, are covered with 

 snow ; and, in this instance, as in many others, the luxuries 

 and ornaments of the vain, are wrought out of the dangers 

 and the miseries of the wretched. These are obliged to fur- 

 nish a certain number of skins every year, and are punished 



