LITTLE BEASTS OF FIELD AND WOOD 



dance, even within the limits of many of our 

 smaller towns and villages, might well be taken to 

 indicate the possession of superior intelligence on 

 their part. But I am inclined to think that they 

 really owe more to their physical perfection than 

 to their wits, which, it seems to me, hardly corre- 

 spond to the agile and vivacious movements of 

 the creatures themselves, but are rather of the 

 stubborn, slow-working order, quite incapable of 

 grasping any new and unforeseen situation, though 

 never failing their owners in a crisis. 



I have seen minks face death in all sorts of 

 situations, but have never witnessed any exhibi- 

 tion of fear or panic on their part, and am almost 

 tempted to believe that the race is actually devoid 

 of any such emotion. 



They belong to the tribe of fishers and 

 hunters, equally at home on the land or in the 

 water, and ready at any moment to plunge into 

 the rapids and grapple with fish as large as them- 

 selves, or chase and pull down a hare among the 



