THE POLECAT. 



279 



however, deny that the Sable inhabits subterranean burrows, and assert that its nest is always 

 made in a hollow tree. Their nests are soft and warm, being composed chiefly of moss, dried 

 leaves, and grass. 



Their food is said to partake partially of a vegetable and partially of an animal character, 

 according to the season of the year. In the summer time, when the hares and other animals 

 are rambling about the plains and forests, the Sable takes advantage of their presence, and 

 kills and eats them. But when the severity of the winter frosts has compelled these creatures 

 to remain within their domiciles, the Sable is said to feed upon the wild berries that it finds 

 on the branches. The hunters assert that the Sable is not content to feed only on the hares 

 and such like animals, which constitute the usual prey of the larger Weasels, but that it is in 

 the habit of killing and devouring the eimine and the smaller members of the Weasel tribe. 

 Even birds fall victims to these agile and voracious animals, being often overtaken in their 

 flight among the branches of trees by a well-aimed leap and a sharp stroke of the fore-paws. 



The Pekan, more popularly termed the Wood-shock, is a native of Canada and other 

 parts of America, and is of some value on account of its fur, which is nearly as useful, although 

 not so valuable, as that of the sable, with which animal it is very closely allied . The color of 



WOOD-SHOCK, OR PEKAN.— Maries canadensis. 



its fur is generally of a grayish -brown, the gray tint being found chiefly on its back, head, 

 neck, and shoulders, and the legs, tail, and back of the neck marked with a much darker 

 brown. 



Its habitation is usually made in burrows, which it excavates on the banks of rivers, 

 choosing that aqueous locality on account of the nature of its food, whicli consists of fish and 

 various quadrupeds which live near the water. Hunting the Wood-shock is a diversion which 

 is greatly in vogue, as is especially followed by the younger portions of the community, who 

 find in this water-living, earth-burrowing, sharp-toothed animal, a creature which affords 

 plenty of sport to themselves and their dogs, while it is not a sufficiently powerful antagonist 

 to cause any great danger to its foes, if it should be driven to despair and assume the offensive, 

 instead of yielding in sullen silence. 



The Polecat has earned for itself a most unenviable fame, having been long celebrated 

 as one of the most noxious pests to which the farmyard is liable. Slightly smaller than the 

 marten, and not quite so powerful, it is found to be a more deadly enemy to rabbits, game, 

 and poultry, than any other animal of its size. 



It is wonderfully bold when engaged upon its marauding expeditions, and maintains an 

 impertinently audacious air even when it is intercepted in the act of destruction. Not only 

 does it make victims of the smaller poultry, such as ducks and chickens, but attacks geese, 

 turkeys, and other larger birds with perfect readiness. This ferocious little creature has a 

 terrible habit of destroying the life of every animal that may be in the same chamber with 

 itself, and if it should gain admission into a hen-house will kill every one of the inhabitants, 



