MAMMALS OF MINNESOTA. 119 



writer noticed an object, which appeared like a ball some six 

 or eight inches in diameter, rolling toward the water; and 

 soon ascertained that it was a Mink and a Muskrat clinched 

 together, and so completely covered with mud as not to have 

 been at first recognized. At his approach, the Mink released 

 its hold and make its escape; but the Muskrat was already 

 dying of severe wounds in the head and neck, from which the 

 blood was flowing profusely. The Muskrat had evidently been 

 captured and overcome in fair fight by broad daylight, and the 

 Mink would have devoured its victim had not the hunter inter- 

 fered. It is also destructive to our native rats and mice the 

 Arvicolas, Hesperomys, Sigmodon, and Neotoma; it is known to 

 capture Rabbits, especially the Lepus palustris, its associate in 

 many marshy or swampy tracts; while its not infrequent vis- 

 its to the poultry-yard have gained for it the hearty ill-will of 

 the farmer. Various marsh -inhabiting birds are enumerated 

 in the list of its prey, among them the rails and several 

 smaller species; and we may presume that it does not spare 

 their eggs. But most birds are removed from its attack; for the 

 Mink is not a climber, at least to any extent. In respect to poul- 

 try, its destructiveness seems to result rather from the regularly 

 repeated visits of an animal that has located in the vicinity 

 than the wholesale slaughtering sometimes accomplished by the 

 Ermine. According to those who have excellent opportunity of 

 judging, the Mink does not as a rule kill more than it eats. 

 Still, the opposite case has been recorded. Its modes of hunt- 

 ing offer nothing peculiar. Like the Weasel and Stoat, it has 

 been known to pursue its prey by scent. 



The Mink often annoys hunters by stealing the game they 

 have shot before they have an opportunity of bagging it. An 

 incident related by a recent anonymous writer in "Forest and 

 Stream" is in point, and furthermore illustrates the wonderful 

 energy and perseverance sometimes displayed by the Mink in 

 securing its food. Speaking of a duck-shooting excursion, 

 during which some of the birds that had- been killed were not 

 recovered till next day, the writer goes onto say: "The first 

 spot which claimed attention, was where our 'hen mallard' 

 had 'struck hard pan.' Here was a sight! feathers and blood 

 marked the scene of a terrific struggle for what remained of a 

 duck's life. Here, for at least ten feet in circuit, the snow, 

 grass and twigs, were whipped into a confused mass, here and 

 there besprinkled with blood, and quite as often decorated 

 with feathers; then there was a trail, leading directly to the 



