CHAPTER TEN 



• Up 



The Mink is one of the more important animals of the 

 American fur trade. It occupies a position among the 

 Carnivorea, or flesh-eaters, somewhat similar to that 

 held by the muskrat among- the vegetable feeders. In num- 

 bers it is found in larger quantities in Louisiana than in any 

 other state of the Union. 



This small but prized fur animal is an inhabitant of 

 North America, but it has relatives in other parts of the 

 world, the nearest being the Norz or Sump jotter (march 

 otter) of eastern Europe, particularly Finland, Poland and 

 a considerable portion of Russia. Asia has another form, 

 the so-called "Siberian mink," which is believed by some 

 scientists to connect the true mink with the polecats of the 

 Old World. 



The name mink originated from the Swedish maenk or 

 mank, applied to the European form, and this name was 

 carried to America by the first settlers. The native Amer- 

 ican name for the animal seems to have passed with the dis- 

 appearance of the aborigines. However, Captain John 

 Smith, in his History of Virginia, written in 1626, sets 

 down that among the animals inhabiting the country were 

 "Martins, Powlcats, Weesels and Minkes," clearly indicat- 

 ing that this particular animal was distinguished from the 

 other mammals it resembled by a vernacular appellation. 

 Two later historians in 1709 and 1784 referred to the mink 

 as a "minx." In spite of its abundance in our part of the 

 South, we find no particular mention of this fur animal in 



