454 The Mink. 



rapids and waterfalls. Wlien pursued it flies for shelter to the 

 water, an element suited to its amphibious habits, or to some 

 retreat beneath the banks of the stream. It runs tolerably well 

 on high ground and we have found it on several occasions no 

 easy matter to overtake it, and when overtaken, we have learned 

 to our cost that it was rather a troublesome customer about our 

 feet and legs, where its sharp canine teeth made some uncomforta- 

 ble indentations ; neither was its odour as pleasant as we could 

 have desired. It is generally supposed that the Mink never re- 

 sorts to a tree to avoid pursuit; we have, however, witnessed one 

 instance to the contrary. In hunting for the ruffed-grouse, 

 {T. Umhellus^ we observed a little dog that accompanied us, 

 barking at the stem of a young tree, and on looking up, perceived 

 a Mink seated in the first fork, about twelve feet from the ground. 

 Our friend, the late Dr. Wright, of Troy, informed us that whilst 

 he was walking on the border of a wood, near a stream, a small 

 animal which he supposed to be a black squirrel, rushed from a 

 tuft of grass, and ascended a tree. After gaining a seat on a pro- 

 jecting branch, it peeped down at the intruder on its haunts, when 

 he shot it, and picking it up, ascertained that it was a Mink. 



" We think, however, that this animal is not often seen to ascend 

 a tree, and these are the only instances of its doing so which are 

 known to us. 



" This species is a good swimmer, and like the musk-rat dives at 

 the flash of a gun ; we have observed, however, that the percus- 

 sion-cap now in general use is too quick for its motions, and that 

 this invention bids fair greatly to lessen its numbers. When shot 

 in the water the body of the Mink, as well as that of the otter, 

 has so little buoyancy, and its bones are so heavy, that it almost 

 invariably sinks. 



" The Mink, like the musk-rat and ermine, does not possess much 

 cunning, and is easily captured in any kind of trap ; it is taken 

 in steel-traps and box-traps, but more generally in what are called 

 dead-falls. It is attracted by any kind of flesh, but we have usu- 

 ally seen the traps baited with the head of a rufi'ed grouse, wild 

 duck, chicken, jay, or other bird. The Mink is exceedingly tena- 

 cious of life, and we have found it still alive under a dead-fall, 

 with a pole lying across its body pressed down by a weight of 

 150 lbs., beneath which it had been struggling for nearly twenty- 

 four hours. 



" This species, as well as the skunk and the ermine, emits an 



