PINE MARTEN AND PEKAN 
like sea otter. Originally this marten occurred wherever forests 
grew, from the central United States to the arctic coast; 
and was so plentiful that periodically it overflowed 
certain districts and spread in hordes, scattering 
far and wide in search of food. On the other hand, periods 
of astonishing scarcity of martens occur every eight or ten 
years, no cause for which is known. 
Marten. 
“This species everywhere rapidly fades away before the approach of 
civilization. They keep mostly to the trees, and hence like the denser 
parts of the forest, but they constantly descend to the ground for food, es- 
pecially in winter, when they regularly hunt for hares and grouse of all kinds, 
trailing them with nose to the track like hounds. Their broad feet enable 
them to move rapidly, even over soft snow. They also hunt persistently 
for squirrels, chase them in the trees and on the ground, and enter their 
nests. To this fare is added whatever mice and birds and small fare comes 
their way. Martens have little to fear from native enemies; the much 
larger fisher is said to kill them, and the great horned owl may now and 
then pounce on one, but very few of the carnivores care to taste their flesh 
unless driven to it by extreme hunger. They are trapped from November 
until toward March, when their coats begin to become ragged and dull in 
hue, and with the approach of the rutting season they are no longer attracted 
by the baits offered by trappers.” * 
Pennant’s marten, or the “‘pekan,” is an American species 
remarkable for its great size—-about twenty-four inches, 
plus thirteen inches of tail—and for its doglike 
head. It has always been rare near settlements, 
has long been nearly extinct south of the Hudson Bay water- 
shed, and now is a great prize for the trapper even in the far 
northern wilderness. Though long known as “fisher,” it cer- 
tainly does not catch fish; the name may have originated, as 
De Kay suggests, because it constantly stole the bait from 
mink traps, and raided the Indian’s stores of frozen fish. It 
does worse mischief than that, however, for it will follow a line 
of marten traps and rob them of both bait and catch with the 
skill and immunity for which the carcajou is infamous. 
165 
Fisher. 
