TRACKS AND TRACKING 



swimming the creeks and tidal pools in the 

 summer, and climbing in and out among the 

 ice cakes in winter. In the latter season he 

 is a conspicuous object, for he does not turn 

 white like his cousin, the crafty weasel, and 

 his rich glossy brown fur contrasts well with 

 the ice. One of these fellows, wandering 

 among the ice floes stranded on the marsh, 

 met death at my hands in those days w^hen I 

 '' observed " as frequently along the shining 

 barrel of a gun as through a glass, and his 

 beautiful skin still serves in arctic weather 

 as head-gear for his slayer. 



A dozen small fish left on a log on a marsh 

 island during a cold night disappeared ut- 

 terly, so that my breakfast w^as a scanty one, 

 while a mink was undoubtedly pleased with 

 this singular change of habitat on the part of 

 the fish. 



If the mink combines in himself the weasel 

 and the otter, he also shows some relationship 

 with the skunk, for he is capable of producing 

 a most abominable odor, but little inferior to 

 that of the latter well known animal. His 

 tracks I have often found; they resemble those 

 of the skunk but are considerably smaller, and 

 the claws are more prominent. A drop of 



