rUTORIUS VISON. 



67 



terrible expression the animal's face assumes as the captor ap- 

 proaches. It has always struck me as the most nearly diabolical of 

 anything- in animal ph)'siognomy. A sullen stare from the crouched, 

 motionless form gives way to a new look of surprise and fear, ac- 

 companied with the most violent contortions of the body, with re- 

 newed champing 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. . . . As may well be supposed, the creature must 

 not be incautiously dealt with when in such a frame of mind." '''' 



When taken sufficiently young he is easil)- domesticated, and makes 

 one of the very best of " ratters." He follows these common pests 

 into their holes, and destrovs lartre numbers of them. The remainder 

 are so terrified that they leave the premises in great haste and are not 

 apt soon to return. 



The Mink carries a pair of anal glands that secrete a fluid of an ex- 

 tremely fetid and disgusting odor. It cannot be ejected to a distance, 

 like that of the skunk, but is poured out under sexual excitement, and 

 when the animal is enraged. It is commonly emitted when the beast 

 is trapped, and sometimes becomes insufferably sickening while re- 

 moving the skin. It is the most execrable smell with which my nos- 

 trils have as yet been offended, and is more powerful and offensive in 

 some individuals than in others — the diflerence probably depending 

 upon season and age. In one specimen the fetor was so intolerabl}' 

 rank and loathsome that I was unable to skin it at one sitting; and I 

 am free to confess that it is one of the few substances, of animal, 

 vegetable, or mineral origin, that has, on land or sea, rendered me 

 aware of the existence of the abominable sensation called nausea. 



The fur of the Mink being valuable, the species has been exten- 

 sively trapped and is consequently not nearly so abundant here as 

 formerly. It is prime early in November. 



* Fur-Bearing Animals, 1S77, p. 176. 



