Page:Rural Hours.djvu/548

Rh name for one of the sleds used by boys for the same amusement.

Fisher is another name for the Black Cat, an animal nearly three feet in length, which was formerly very numerous. It is nocturnal, eats small quadrupeds, and climbs trees. It feeds on fish also, stealing the bait and destroying traps, whence its name.

The Sable, or Marten, is a small brown animal, about two and a half feet in length. It is nocturnal, and lives entirely in the trees of our northern forests. To procure this valuable fur, the hunters will sometimes stretch a line of traps across sixty or seventy miles of country, allowing six to ten traps for each mile! Every trap is visited about once in a fortnight. Dr. De Kay supposes that our Sable is quite distinct from the European Pine Marten, to which it is allied.

The Ermine of New York is a small creature, about one or two feet in length; in winter, it is pure white, but brown in summer. It is active and nocturnal. Our people sometimes call it the Catamingo.

Then there are two Weasels, confounded at times with the Ermine, and about twelve inches in length.

The Mink lives on fish, haunting ponds. It is about two feet in length.

The Skunk we all know only too well. There is one in the village now, which has taken possession of the cellar of one of the handsomest houses in the place, and all but driven the family out of doors. For several months it has kept possession of its quarters with impunity; our friends being actually afraid to kill it, lest its death should be worse even than its life.

The Wolverine is another nocturnal creature, about two feet