the meadow. A farmer would strenu- 

 ously object to the presence of a wood- 

 chuck in his meadow, where this animal 

 would destroy a surprising quantity of 

 clover. In this forest meadow no one 

 objected, and since the woodchuck does 

 not eat fish or flesh he was never mo- 

 lested. His wife, however, must guard 

 her young, as there are several unscrup- 

 ulous residents of this forest who would 

 eat them without the slightest compunc- 

 tion. 



Another fellow prowled about our val- 

 ley, though he lived on the ridges. He is 

 larger than a marten and is also a hand- 

 some animal, but of a somewhat different 

 type. He sometimes attains an extreme 

 length of three and one-half feet and 

 weighs eighteen or twenty pounds. He 

 is known as a "fisher." Sometimes, also, 

 called "black-cat" or "black-fox." The 

 fisher is very ferocious and is feared by 

 all animals not larger than himself. He 

 is powerful and agile; the swiftest and 

 most deadly of all the smaller forest car- 



39 



