day. Mink and
ermine are often caught in them, and on one occasion even a wolverine
was taken. The wolverine, having scented the bait, followed it up, and
while endeavouring to secure the dainty duck's head, thrust his forepaw
into the hole and was thus taken prisoner.

Oo-koo-hoo took pains to teach the boys everything in relation to
trapping, and as soon as he was sure they had mastered the details of
setting such traps, he went ahead with his axe to blaze the right
trees, while the boys followed with the auger, and in the work of
boring the holes and driving the nails took turn and turn about. But
after all, the old-fashioned deadfall is more humane than any other way
of trapping, as it often ends the animal's suffering at once by killing
it outright, instead of holding it a prisoner till it starves or is
frozen to death, before the hunter arrives on his usual weekly round of
that particular trapping path.

Martens mate in February or March, the young being born about three
months later, either in a hole in the ground or in a hollow tree; the
nest being lined with moss, grass, or leaves, and the litter numbering
usually from two to four. The marten is a wonderfully energetic little
animal, even more tireless than the squirrel and as great a climber.
It is an expert hunter and its food includes birds, fish, chipmunks,
birds' eggs, mice, fruit, and rabbits; and it stores its surplus food
by burying it.

MINK ON THE FUR TRAIL

By the time Oo-koo-hoo and his grandsons had set twelve or fifteen
traps it was nearing noon, so we had lunch before starting off in
search of another rich game region. While on our way that afternoon
the old hunter again discovered signs of wolverines and it worried him,
for it meant not only the destruction of many of his traps, but also
the ruining of the pelts of some of the animals he might catch.
Continuing, we soon entered an ideal valley for mink, where two
turbulent little crystal streams roared at one another as they sprang
together among the rocks and then fell down into dark, eddying pools
where, no doubt, trout leaped after flies in due season.

The mink is a small animal, about two feet long, including his tail.
In colour he is of a dark, rich brown. Though he is not a swift runner
and is rather a poor climber, he is an excellent swimmer and is a
desperate fighter of great strength. Minks mate in February and March;
the female burrowing in a bank, a rocky crevice, or