094 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
[April 30, 1910. 
Marten in the Sierras. 
The pine marten is a great summer rambler, 
but when seen in summer no calculation can be 
made that he may be found in the same locality 
in mid winter. Hence a cruise is necessary to 
look up his winter range. When this is found 
no ingenuity of trapping is required, as almost 
any trap properly set will take him. 
It is not generally known, except by the wise 
trapp'er, that the north slope of a ridge in winter 
time is the calmest and is preferred by the marten 
because here huddle the grouse and other feath¬ 
ered game protected from the prevailing south¬ 
east and southwest storms. 
The marten loves to hunt mice or the whist¬ 
ling marmot, old pike. His voracity knows no 
bounds and when hunger gnaws he will even 
attack a skunk or any animal twice his size. 
In the latter part of March, when the female 
marten has given birth to her litter, she must 
snug away her kittens or the male marten will 
devour them when found. Marten are gi egai i- 
ous, so to speak. When one is found, five or 
six, perhaps a dozen more can be traced by sign 
on tree bole or furrowed snow. 
Following the “long blaze’ in the pursuit of 
the pine marten is the trapper’s most lucrative 
quest. His preliminary campaign entails not a 
few hardships. The marten trapper commences 
his timber cruise early in the fall, say the middle 
of September. If he is alone, and thoroughly 
understands his business, he goes light, unin¬ 
cumbered with camping paraphernalia. A blaze 
axe and rifle, together with a pack bag in which 
is stored snugly enough food to last ten days 
or two weeks, meet all his requirements. Now 
he is off like the startled stag up the mountain 
side. His haste is slowed down to a measured 
gait, as he breathes in the odors of the balsam 
of fir and pine in the home of his quarry. 
The lay of the land is first thoroughly con¬ 
sidered, and in his mind’s eye he already sees 
the swish of the bough or the rift in the tree 
bole from which pussy marten will emerge in 
the gloaming of the evening. Close by a shelv¬ 
ing rock near some trickling rill, or under the 
roots of a wind-shake, the trapper establishes 
his first rough and ready camp. From this camp 
he saunters forth both by day and by night to 
pick a sign and to listen to the marten as it 
tackles its prey when the lust of blood is on it. 
His trained senses deduce into tangible facts 
these sights and sounds of the forest. 
In the fall the pine marten is much abroad 
in the day time. This is no doubt owing to 
climatic changes or the migratory instinct so 
common among all the weasel tribe, and to which 
much of their restlessness must be attributed. 
Their favorite haunt is among the tangle of 
down timber caused by a snow slide, and if the 
lay of the land is precipitous and the snowfall 
in proportion to the altitude, these snow slides 
occur periodically. Another cause for much 
down timber is the prevailing wind storms where 
the exposed points have been partially weakened 
by a “ground burn” in the dry season. Along 
the base of these snow slides and throughout 
the length and breadth of a burn or down tim¬ 
ber, especially where a second growth is burst¬ 
ing betwixt stem and bough along the mountain 
side, the grouse from a higher altitude gather 
in the late fall and well into the winter. Not 
alone the grouse, but all the rest of the feath¬ 
ered tribe seek now the shelter afforded by the 
brakes and tangles of this labyrinthine retreat. 
These are the feathered grubstake of what 
natural history sharps call Mustela americana, 
the American sable or pine marten. It is here 
that the trapper finds them at this time—attend¬ 
ing to business. 
If any there be who thinks that the line of 
a marten trapper is blazed out along flowery 
beds of ease, let him come with me through the 
jack pines or along the log walks over down 
timber, and if he escapes a broken leg or barked 
shins he has only then commenced to know a 
trick or two. When the snowfall is from thiee 
to six feet deep and the mountain side is not 
too steep, the snow in midwinter will pack over 
the tangles of down timber, making it easier to 
“mush” over with skis. But at its best it is a 
crafty undertaking and one had better take the 
dividing ridge or skirt the down timber. Woe 
to the unlucky trapper who should break through 
a pot hole or slide rift. He may break a shoe, 
and then if he flounders out on good crust he 
has reason to thank his lucky star. If in quest 
of his game he takes to the high ridges, he has 
the snow-comb to contend with, do fall into a 
rip of a snow-comb will surely start a snow 
slide, and if it is a wet slide, the trapper will 
be swallowed up in the avalanche of snow, 
buried alive. 
Trapping for the pine marten along the low- 
lying ridges, or through stretches of timber on 
elevated plateaus, is an easy task in comparison 
with the work required of the regular “high 
liner” who beards the storm king to his face. 
He is the one who takes the sleek pussy that 
brings thirty dollars per pelt in the Eastern 
markets. As stated above, the preliminary cruise 
in the fall must be made to spy out the lay of 
the land and to see it for oneself, for hearsay 
does not go with experienced trappers. If mar¬ 
ten are plenty along his line, the trapper will 
get them, and to that end will risk his limbs and 
his life. 
Most trappers use the steel trap in the pursuit 
of the marten. About 300 No. 1^2 steel traps 
are the number and size usually employed. It 
all depends on the ground trapped over. If on 
the high line, or in fairly open timber, that 
number of traps is none too many. The usual 
mode of setting these traps is known as the “peg 
set.” Three pegs are driven in a triangular form 
into the bole of a tree above the normal fall of 
snow. On the two lower pegs the trap rests, 
and on the upper peg the bait is hung. If a 
snow storm is anticipated, a spray of browse is 
topped over the upper peg. A leaning branch 
or limb is set up against the lower pegs to give 
enticement and easy access. Scent or medicine 
—used by most trappers—is not necessary if 
your bait is fresh. The trap on the lower two 
pegs is rarely covered up. The marten in his 
greed will rush right into a bare steel trap and 
as soon as the trap is sprung he is swung out 
over and away from the bole of the tree, the 
trap being cleated to the lower or extended peg. 
There he dangles in all his beauty until the 
trapper makes the swing of his long line of 
traps. 
The deadfall trapper works a different craft. 
He has the fisher, bobcat and all other varmints 
to reckon with, and many a marten he finds in 
his traps all torn to shreds, or with pelt mauled 
out of shape. Give me the steel trap for mar¬ 
ten, and if you have to make a ground or snow 
set, you can rig a spring pole and lift pussy mar¬ 
ten high and dry out of the reach of harm from 
himself or any other critter. If the trapping 
ground lies through down timber or a burn, 
deadfalls are all right if properly constructed 
and there are no skunk-bears or wolverines on 
the trace. 
What has been said of the marten will stand 
also in regard to the fisher, except that the fisher 
is the larger of the two. The fisher, like the 
marten, is arboreal, but is not found so much 
on the higher divides as along the mountain side, 
and the fisher is not so prolific as the marten, 
having only two at a litter, while the marten 
has from six to eight. H. S. Peterson. 
Utica Fish and Game Protective 
Association. 
Utica, N. Y., April 20 .—Editor Forest and 
Stream: The Utica Fish and Game Protective 
Association held its annual meeting April 13 and 
elected the following directors for the ensuing 
year: Dr. J. G. Kilbourn, George L. Bradford, 
Henry Lancaster, H. J. Cookinham, Jr., W. E. 
Wolcott, N. L. Hayes, C. W. Keeler, W. S. 
French, T. W. Johnson. The present officers 
are: President, Thomas W. Johnson; Vice- 
President, W. E. Wolcott; Secretary, W. S. 
French; Treasurer, George L. Bradford. 
President Johnson said that three years ago 
the association reorganized with a membership 
of twenty-seven, last year it had 160 and there 
are now approximately 300 members. “Now 
that we have gained strength,” said he, “we can 
go ahead and accomplish something because the 
united efforts of our now large membership are 
bound to demand recognition.” 
The annual report of Treasurer Bradford 
showed the organization to be in a prosperous 
condition financially. 
W. E. Wolcott, chairman of the committee 
on legislation, spoke in favor of the Audubon 
Society bill and a resolution relating to it was 
adopted. 
Mr. Wolcott also referred to the proposed con¬ 
struction of storage reservoirs in the Adiron- 
dacks, the leasing of camp sites on State lands, 
etc., and said: “The people are tired of and dis¬ 
gusted with the juggling operations which have 
been so long carried on in connection with the 
forest lands. There is room enough for the con¬ 
struction of storage reservoirs outside of the 
Adirondack State Park.” 
Special State Game Protector B. J. Anson 
spoke in regard to the difficulty sometimes ex¬ 
perienced in obtaining information from sports¬ 
men concerning violations of the game law be¬ 
cause of the fact that they are afraid of making 
enemies. There is no reason why persons should 
hesitate about giving information, as there is a 
rule in the department that a protector must not 
reveal the name of his informant. 
The prizes awarded to those who took part 
in the recent membership contest were then 
awarded. They included an automatic pistol, 
an automatic rifle, three rods, hunting coats, 
reels, fish basket, etc. 
Prof. E. B. Fleck spoke in opposition to the 
bill intended to prohibit the shooting of wood¬ 
cock for a term of three years. 
H. C. Sholes spoke of the value of song birds, 
