446 SPORTING ADVENTURES IN THE FAR WEST. 



the finest quality being generally shipped to the latter 

 country. Of these the mink, marten, and fisher are the 

 most important, and they are followed by the musk-rat, 

 polecat, and badger. These animals are nearly all caught 

 in steel traps, or in garrotes or wooden dead-falls ; and it 

 is anything but pleasant to approach some of them, espe- 

 cially the mink {Putorius viso?i), as it emits an effluvium 

 which is only exceeded in foulness by that of the skunk. 

 This has its use, however, for trappers employ the fluid to 

 scent baits, in order to make them more efficacious. The 

 mink is very abundant where rivers are few, as it then 

 keeps in colonies, and is not so widely dispersed as when 

 the streams are common. I have seen dozens of these 

 creatures within a distance of two miles in some portions 

 of the North-west, but I found it of little use to try and 

 shoot them in the water, as they dived on seeing the flash 

 of the gun, and even when hit they sunk ; so that I could 

 not secure them without more trouble than they were 

 worth. 



The best means of capturing them is to build a small en- 

 closure of stones in shallow, rippling water, and place the 

 trap near its entrance, the bait being farther in, and well 

 saturated with mink odor; and the animals, in trying to 

 get that, are almost sure of putting their leg or head in the 

 trap. If they are only caught by the leg they often gnaw 

 that away above the jaws of the trap and escape, as they 

 have strong vital power, and the pluck and furious temper 

 of their family. 



They are as aquatic as the beaver, and spend most of 

 their time in the water, being to that element what the 

 weasel is to the land. They feed on rats, mice, the marsh 

 hare, birds, fish, crustaceans, and other denizens of the 

 swamps and streams, and they seem to excel all other ani- 

 mals in their attachment to frog dinners. The mink, when 

 tamed, is a pleasant pet about the house, and is a far better 

 ratter than the domestic cat, but its odor is somewhat 

 against it as a companion. 



The fisher, or black cat {M.pennantii), is found in near- 



