890 Life-histories of Northern Animals 



When cornered and at bay he is the embodiment of savage 

 ferocity. Dr. Coues has given us" a masterly picture of a 

 Mink in a trap. "One who has not taken a Mink in a steel 

 trap can scarcely form an idea of the terrible expression the 

 animal's face assumes as the captor approaches. It has always 

 struck me as the most nearly diabolical of anything in animal 

 physiognomy. A sullen stare from the crouched motionless 

 form gives way to a new look of surprise and fear accompanied 

 with the most violent contortion of the body, with renewed 

 champings of the iron, till breathless, with heaving flanks, and 

 open mouth dribbling saliva, the animal settles again and 

 watches with a look of concentrated hatred, mingled with 

 impotent rage and frightful despair." 



This is the picture of a man who had seen it. He had eyes, 

 but surely he lacked both ears and nose, else he had recorded 

 the piercing screech of fear and fury, and the all-pervading, 

 far-reaching, skunk-emulating musky stench with which the 

 trapped Mink never fails to saturate the air, the place, the trees, 

 the breeze, and so proclaim afar and afterwards that hereabouts 

 a Mink was held in direst straits. 

 BATTUNG When Mink meets Mink, the battle is worthy of such 



desperate and valiant warriors, and they meet much and often 

 at certain seasons. So it is surprising how few have witnessed 

 the deadly engagement. The following description is that of 

 a man who beheld it with his own eyes.'* 



"It was my good fortune to witness a fight to death between 

 a couple of male Minks a fortnight ago, one of the most fearless 

 as well as silent struggles I ever saw. In one of the largest 

 stone quarries in western Ohio, a small clear brook grows 

 larger, deeper, and wider by the help of the clear sparkling 

 water of many a spring, issuing from the crevices of the lime- 

 stone and flowing through little hollows and around pieces 

 of stone that have been thrown out as worthless. In the course 

 of years the accumulation of rubbish or ' dump,' as it is termed, 

 has made a perfect retreat for Minks, Weasels, and Rabbits. 



" Furbcaring Anim., 1877, p. 176. 



" Williamsburgh, Ind., Forest and Stream, Nov. 24, 1892, p. 444. 



