LV THE FAR WEST. 387 



and plucky, it can tumble down dead-falls, and even get away 

 with a steel trap unless it is well fastened with an iron chain. 

 Its skin is valued at from one to two dollars in the West, 

 but it brings much more than that sum in the market. It 

 is highly prized by some of the Indian tribes for making 

 arrow quivers, as it is showy, long, and durable. The fisher 

 has from two to four young ones at a time, and they are 

 brought forth in the hollow part of a tree. 



The American sable or pine marten (Mustela americana) is 

 abundant where settlements are scarce, as it is very prolific, its 

 family generally numbering six or eight at a time. It is well 

 able to live in its forest home, for though not so insatiably 

 bloodthirsty as the weasel, yet it is exceedingly destructive 

 to birds and small mammals, so that it manages to secure 

 plenty of pabulum at all times. 



An adult male has a length of about eighteen inches, ex- 

 cluding the bushy tail, which is about ten or twelve. Its fur, 

 which is in the best condition from November to April, is 

 often over an inch in depth, but it differs in quality, some 

 portions of it being finer and longer than others. Large 

 numbers of this animal are captured annually in steel traps 

 and wooden dead-falls, the traps sometimes extending for a 

 distance of forty or fifty miles in a certain direction, and num- 

 bering several to the mile. The bait consists simply of a bit 

 of meat, a bird's head, or even a field-mouse, for it seems to 

 have an appetite for all things edible from insects to eggs and 

 rats. 



Like its congeners, it emits a strong effluvium at will, but it 

 is not so strong as that of the skunk or mink. This creature 

 is thoroughly arboreous in its habitat, hence it is seldom found 

 in clearings or near settlements, so that it does little harm to 

 the poultry -yard. It is an expert climber, most active worker, 

 and a shrewd little creature in many ways, and were it not for 

 its odour it would make an amusing house-pet. Its fur is in 

 such active demand that it meets a ready sale ; and this causes 

 trappers to capture it in large numbers during the winter. 



The stoat or ermine (Putorius erminea] is very common in 

 Alaska and British America. This graceful, untiring, brave 



c c 2 



