878 



Life-histories of Northern Animals 



ing, very restless, and his tracks may everywhere be traced, 

 along ponds, among the slabs around saw-mills, and along 

 nearly every stream of water. He seems to keep on foot 

 all day as well as through the whole night. Having for several 

 days in succession observed a number of Minks on the ice 

 hurrying up and down a mill-pond, where we had not observed 

 any during the whole winter, we took a position near a place 



'^-v./ 



Fig. 211 — Mink about one-fifth of life size. 



which we had seen them pass, in order to procure some of them. 

 We shot 6 in the course of the morning, and ascertained that 

 they were all large and old males. As we did not find a single 

 female in a week, whilst we obtained a great number of males, 

 we came to the conclusion that the females during this period 

 remain in their burrows." 



The question is, however, far from being settled. Many 

 observers have seen Minks in pairs together, sharing each 

 other's lives and fortunes to some extent. 



Thus Charles G. D. Roberts tells me that one year about 

 midsummer as he was carrying his canoe around a log jam 

 on the Nashwaak River, N. B., he saw two full-grown Mink 

 travelling together, and evidently associated. They left the 



