LITTLE BEASTS OF FIELD AND WOOD 



Like the otter, they slide down every slope 

 they come to, or worm their way about beneath the 

 snow, like moles, creeping along under fence rails 

 and fallen trees whenever the opportunity offers. 

 They are said to climb trees like squirrels ; and 

 one reliable hunter told me that he once shot 

 one in the top of a tall elm ; but for my own 

 part I have never seen one do more than clamber 

 about the leaning trunk of a willow, a few feet 

 from the ground. 



One winter the minks discovered a swarm of 

 wild bees in the hollow trunk of a fallen hem- 

 lock near here, and for a short time simply feasted 

 on bees and honey. When I visited the place, 

 the snow about the log was scattered over with 

 frozen bees and bits of comb ; and the one who 

 first told me about it said that he had carried 

 home several pounds of the best honey, and bees 

 enough, as he thought, to stock a hive, but they 

 all died before spring. 



A mink will nearly always follow any open 



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