310 PENNANT'S MARTEN OR FISHER. 



scarcely any vestige of the knowledge of its former existence can now 

 be traced. 



Dr. Dekay (Nat. Hist. N. Y., p. 32, 1843,) states that, " in Hamilton 

 county, (N. Y.,) it is still numerous and troublesome." On an excursion 

 we made in the State of New York, in 1827, we heard of it occasionally 

 near the head waters of Lake Champlain, along the St. Lawrence, and 

 to the west as far as Lake Erie, but it was every where represented as 

 a species that was fast disappearing. 



Whilst residing in the northern part of our native State, (New York,) 

 thirty-five years ago, the hunters were in the habit of bringing us two or 

 three specimens of this Marten in the course of a winter. Thej' obtained 

 them by following their tracks in the sno'vv, when the animals had 

 been out in quest of food on the previous night, thus tracing them to 

 the hollow trees in which they were concealed, which they chopped 

 down. They informed us that as a tree was falling, the Fisher would 

 dart from the hollow, which was often fifty feet from the ground, and 

 leap into the snow, ■when the dogs usually seized and killed him, 

 although not without a hard struggle, as the Fisher was infinitely more 

 dangerous to their hounds than either the graj- or the red fox. They 

 usually called this species the Black Fox. 



A servant, on one occasion, came to us before daylight, asking us to 

 shoot a raccoon for him, which, after having been chased by his dogs 

 the previous night, had taken to so large a tree that he neither felt dis- 

 posed to climb it nor to cut it down. On our arrival at the place, it was 

 already light, and the dogs were barking furiously at the foot of the 

 tree. We soon perceived that instead of being a raccoon, the animal 

 was a far more rare and interesting species, a Fisher. As we were 

 anxious to study its habits we did not immediately shoot, but teased it 

 by shaking some grape vines that had crept up nearly to the top of the 

 tree. The animal not only became thoroughly frightened but seemed 

 furious ; he leaped from branch to branch, showing his teeth and growl- 

 ing at the same time ; now and then he ran half way down the trunk of 

 the tree, elevating his back in the manner of an angry cat, and we every 

 moment expected to see him leap off and fall among the dogs. He 

 was brought down after several discharges from the gun. He seemed 

 extremely tenacious of life, and was game to the last, holding on to the 

 nose of a dog with a dying grasp. This animal proved to be a male, 

 the body measured twenty-five inches, and the tail, including the fur, 

 fifteen. The servant who had traced him, informed us that he appeared 

 to have far less speed than a fox, that he ran for ten minutes through a 

 swamp in a straight direction, and then took to a tree. 



