DESCRIPTION.
D en ta l fo rm u la , incisors canines §g§. grinders = 34.
The Vison has an anterior molar less in both jaws than the American pine-martin; but the
teeth of the two species differ in shape merely in the antipenultimate or carnivorous tooth of
the lower jaw having only a slightly salient angle, in place of the interior very minute point,
which exists on the lower carnivorous tooth of the martin. S iz e .—Less than the pine-martin,
but, from the greater length of its neck, it measures nearly as much from the nose to the tail.
S h a p e .—The head is depressed and small; the nose short, flat, and thick; the eyes small,
and far forward; the ears low, nearly semicircular, and covered with short fur. The neck is
long, and the body is long and slender, and has much flexibility. The legs are short, and the
toes are connected by short hairy webs that are completely concealed by the fur, which is as
long on the feet both above and below, as on the legs. The claws are nearly straight, sharp,
and white, and scarcely project beyond the fur. The tail is round and thick at the root, from
whence it tapers gradually to the tip, exactly resembling the tail of an otter in form. In the
prepared specimens, the part of the tail next the body is usually too slender, whilst towards
the tip it is over-stuffed, causing the hairs to stand out, and giving it a bushy appearance contrary
to nature.
The f u r is short on the head, and is longest on the posterior part of the body and tail. It
is of two sorts—a very dense down, and longer and stronger hairs. The tips of the latter
form a smooth shining coat both on the body and tail, which completely conceals the down.
The colour of the down is intermediate betwixt brown and gray, being nearly that which
Werner denominates brocoli-brown. The colour of the surface of the fur is chocolate or
umber-brown ; a little paler on the head and belly, but deepening on the tail and posterior
part of the back into blackish-brown. The lower jaw is white, with a narrow brown mark at
the apex; and there are occasionally some white markings on the throat, but they are not
constant either in number or size. The whiskers are of the same colour with the fur, and are
shorter than the head, but remarkably strong. There are two brown-coloured glands situated
in the hollow between the tuberosities of the ischium and the tail, which have each a small
cavity capable of containing a garden pea, and lined by a white, wrinkled membrane. The
fluid they secrete is very fetid.
Dimensions.
Length of head and body' .
Inches. Lines. Inches. Lines.
- 17 0 j Distance from centre of orbit to end of nose 1 0
„ tail, including fur . 8 6 ,, end of nose to auditory opening 2 5
,, heatT . . . . 3 3 1 Breadth between the ears . • 2 0
[17.J 4. M u s t e l a M a r t e s . (Linn.) The Pine-Martin.
Genus. Mustela. Linn. Sub-germs. Mustela. Cuvier.
Mustela martes. Lin n . Gmelin, voL i. p. 95.
Pine-martin. Pennant’s Arctic Zool., vol. i. p. 77*
Mustela martes. Saeine, Franklin's Journ., p. 651. Harlan’s Fauna, p. 67.
Pine-Martin. God m a n ’s Nat. Hist., vol. i. p. 200.
Wawpeestan. Cree Indians. Wappanow. Monzonies.
Wawbeechins. Algonouins. Sable. American Fur-dealers.
Martin. Hudson’s Bay Company’s Lists.
The Pine-martin inhabits the woody distriets in the northern parts of America,
from the Atlantic to the Pacific, in great numbers, and has been observed to be
particularly abundant where the trees have been killed by fire, but are still
standing. It is very rare, as Hearne has remarked, in the district lying north of
Churchill river, and east of Great Slave Lake, known by the name of Chepewyan
or Barren Lands. A similar district, on the Asiatic side of Behring’s Straits,
twenty-five degrees of longitude in breadth, and inhabited by the Tchutski, is
described by Pennant as equally unfrequented by the Martin, and for the same
reason,—the want of trees. The limit of its northern range in America is like that
of the woods, about the sixty-eighth degree of latitude, and it is said to be found
as far south as New-England. Particular races of Martins, distinguished by the
fineness and dark colours of their fur, appear to inhabit certain rocky districts.
The rocky and mountainous but woody district of the Nipigon, on the north side
of Lake Superior, has long been noted for its black and valuable Martin-skins.
The Martin preys on mice, hares, and partridges, and in summer, on small birds’
eggs, &c. A partridge’s head, with the feathers, is the best bait for the log traps
in which this animal is taken. It does not reject carrion, and often destroys the
hoards of meat and fish laid up by the natives, when they have accidentally left a
crevice by which it can enter. The Martin, when its retreat is cut off, shows its
teeth, sets up its hair, arches its back, and makes a hissing noise like a cat. It will
seize a dog by the nose, and bite so hard, that unless the latter is accustomed to
the combat, it suffers the little animal to escape. It may be easily tamed, and it
soon acquires an attachment for its master, but it never becomes docile. Its flesh
is occasionally eaten, though it is not prized by the Indians. The females are
smaller than the males. They burrow in the ground, carry their young about six
weeks, and bring forth from four to seven in a litter about the latter end of April.
Mr. Graham says that this animal is sometimes troubled with epilepsy,
H 2