52 
MAMMALIA. 
MU STELA AMERICANA Turton. 
Marten; American Sable; Pine Marten; Hudson's Bay Sable. 
The Marten is a common resident of the dark evergreen forests 
of the Adirondacks, and hundreds of them are trapped here every 
winter for their fur. Like the Fisher, it is chiefly nocturnal, but is 
occasionally seen abroad by day. They prey upon partridges, rab- 
bits, squirrels, chipmunks, mice, shrews, and any other “small game ” 
that they are smart enough to catch. Birds’ eggs and young birds 
are greedily devoured, and frogs and toads, and even our larger in- 
sects, do not come amiss. It is said that they are exceedingly fond of 
honey, but on how good authority I am unable to attest. They are 
arboreal to such an extent that they are never found in districts de- 
void of timber, and seem to show a predilection for coniferous forests. 
Not only are they expert climbers, but they sport about amongst the 
tree-tops, both in pursuit of game and pleasure, with the ease and 
grace of squirrels. Preferring moss-covered logs and the seclusion 
of deep evergreen woods to the beaten paths and stir of the settled 
districts, or even the rude civilization of the hardy frontiersman, the 
Marten avoids the clearings and habitations of man, and cannot be 
reckoned among the depredators of the poultry-yard. 
It is one of the prettiest of North American mammals, but its dis- 
position is sadly out of harmony with its attractive exterior. Mr. 
John Constable has narrated to me a most interesting and vivid ac- 
count of an affray that he once witnessed, in company with his 
brother, Mr. Stevenson Constable, between a Marten and a Great 
Northern Hare. The Marten, generally so meek and docile in ap- 
pearance, assumed the savage mien and demeanor of a fierce tiger, 
as it attacked and slew the luckless hare — an animal of several times 
its own size and weight. And even after the poor hare was dead 
the Marten’s fury did not abate, and he angrily jerked and twisted the 
lifeless body from side to side, as if to reek vengeance, for sins never 
committed, upon the defenceless body of his innocent victim. So in- 
