Mink H89 



cat till it was satisfied, then turned on its gentle foster-mother, 

 trying to tear her. Several times the cat cried out but, seeing 

 no marks, I thought it must be a trifling hurt; still she would 

 not injure the little brute, but continued to nurse it tenderly. 

 More than once I had to save one of the kittens from its jaws. 

 To-day I found the hens in an uproar, and, on going to the 

 place, found an old clucker rushing about with the diminutive 

 Mink fastened to her neck. I choked it off and put it back 

 with the kittens. 1 his afternoon I chanced to lift the cat up and 



Fig. 213 — Mink poses. (From life). 



VViuiiipet;. Auy. a^, i9"4- 



was horrified to find the Mink had bitten off four of the foster- 

 mother's teats, lacerated her whole breast, and eaten a hole 

 nearly into her bowels, and yer mother love made the poor 

 creature keep on without harming the devil she was rearing. 

 All of this ends to-day. 



The Mink has few enemies that are dangerous, for it is enemies 

 a dangerous fighter, but the great horned owl must be reckoned 

 with, as is shown by the following from A. N. Cheney.'" A 

 friend of his was at the opening of his tent one nightfall, at 

 Triton Club Lake. He had been " fishing, and his trout were 

 in front of his tent, when a Mink came from somewhere and 

 seizing a trout in its mouth made off with it, but before the 

 Mink was out of sight a big owl swooped down, grabbed the 

 Mink and made off with it into the air, and the last he heard 

 of the Mink it was screaming pitifully up towards the zenith." 



" Forest and Stream, May 7, 1898, p. 371. 



