CHAPTEE IX. 



TWO FAMOUS SWIMMERS. 

 The Mink and Otter. 



The mink {Putorius visor) is the next relation 

 of the weasel. Larger and heavier in figure, in some 

 respects he resembles the marten ; like this animal, he 

 has a large bushy tail, but, unlike him, the ears are 

 small and low, scarcely extending beyond the fur in the 

 vicinity; they are rounded, and well furred on both 

 sides. The feet are somewhat pointed and small, and 

 the legs are short. Over the snow the tracks of the 

 mink are mingled in one regular and rather deep fur- 

 row, quite different in this respect from the rhyth- 

 mical tracks of the marten. On the sandy river beach 

 the tracks are also a trifle mixed, and are easily recog- 

 nized on this account. 



The mink is a handsome animal, with a beautiful, 

 long, very dark-brown or blackish fur, and black, 

 bushy tail ; beneath, his body is irregularly patched 

 with white. He is tolerably abundant in the Adiron- 

 dack woods ; occasionally he is found on the borders 



147 



