THE SABLE AND WE . .7 



them in their owd r ; and it is the work <»f a few 



minutes for th ous miner to so enlarge their bur 



thai it can enter and reach the deepesl recesses. The 

 . like the spermophiles, is mostly confii the 



■rii plains. 

 The wolverene, glutton, or carcajou ( Gulo ' inhab- 



be for< sts of northern America and the colder pari 

 sia and Siberia as well a- the Arcl regions ft is 

 heavy and clumsy, with short thick legs, shaggy and two or 

 three feel long. I - gth, ferocity, thievishness, and 



cunning as well as gluttonous disposition are notorious; 

 hence its name u Indian devil." It is now very rare in the 

 United States. It brings forth its four or five young late 

 in June and early in July in burrows underground. 



The fisher or pekan i .1/ nantii) is a large, pow- 



ful animal intermediate between the wolvereue and marten, 

 ge individuals are a fool high and three and a half 

 It frequi ep forests and wooded mountaii - 



and nests in hollow trees, and brings forth from two to four 

 young about the first of May (Merriam). [ts name fisher 

 is misleading, as it lives away from water and seldom eats 

 fish. 

 The marten or American sable : ' » which 



le of the most valuable of our fur animals is about the 

 size of a large house cat, though the legs are shorter; it is 

 about a foot and a half in length. It preys on partrid 

 rabbits, Bquirrels, mice, shrews, as well a- birds' i ggs and 

 young birds. It abounds most in pine f . and le 



'ten called the pine marten. It nests in hollow i. 

 rarely in the ground, and it has from two ; mng 



in April. 



The weasels are much smaller than the sable, the body 

 being Blender and the fur turns white in winter, 

 least weasel (Putorius vulgar a 5 said to have two or 

 three litters in a year, having four or five _ at a time. 



It hunts mice, moles, shrews, entering their burrows, and 

 ;i!so devours small birds and e__-. 1 :. ermine • 



