partially webbed, and spend much time in the water. Although, like other Mustelidæ, they eat birds, small mammals, and eggs, the principal food of minks comes from the water; thus fish, frogs, salamanders, craytish, and even mollusks, form their chief diet, and muskrats and other water-loving mammals also fall prey to their voracity. The fur of the mink is of great value commercially, though the price varies much with color and quality. (See Fur and the Fur Trade.) Minks are usually brown, sometimes rather light, but more often very dark, especially along the mid-dorsal line. The darker the animal the more valuable it is. The fur is made up of a dense undercoat and an outer coat of long, shining hairs, and the skins from the coldest regions are usually the most valuable. Like all its near relatives, the mink is bloodthirsty and cruel. It is very courageous, and when cornered is savage. The young are born in the early spring, usually in a hole in the bank of some body of water, where plenty of food is easily obtained. The number of young is about six in a litter. The mink is second only to the skunk in the strength, penetrating power, and nauseousness of the odor of the secretion in the anal glands, but fortunately it is only when the animal is greatly enraged that the odor becomes very disagreeable. Minks are said to be easily tamed if taken young, and to enjoy being petted, but their temper is capricious, and as they grow old they become dangerous. Civilization seems to have little effect upon them, there being few districts so completely cleared or densely settled as not to afford them refuge.
Consult: Audubon and Bachman, Quadrupeds of North America (New York, 1851); Coues, Fur-bearing Animals (Washington, 1879); Stone and Cram, American Animals (New York, 1902). See Fur-Bearing Animals.
MINK-FROG, or Hoosier-Frog. A small frog (Rana septentrionalis) of the Northwestern United States. It is 2¼ inches long from nose to vent, dark olive green above, with sooty brown bars and blotches, and pure white underneath. Its hazel iris, minky color, and quiet solitary habits, distinguish it from others. A detailed account of its features and ecology was given by J. H. Garnier in The American Naturalist, vol. xvii. (Philadelphia, 1883).
MIN′KOPIS. The inhabitants of the Andaman Islands. See Mincopies.
MINNA VON BARNHELM, mǐn′na fō̇n bärn′hĕlm. A comedy by Lessing, produced at Hamburg in 1767. The action occupies part of a single day, and the scene throughout is an inn. The plot rests on the ruse employed by the heroine to overcome the false sense of honor of her fiancé, Major von Tellheim, who refuses to bind her to him, because of his poverty.
MIN′NEAP′OLIS. A city and the county-seat of Ottawa County, Kan., 127 miles west of Topeka; on the Solomon River, and on the Union Pacific and the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe railroads (Map: Kansas, E 2). It derives considerable trade from the adjacent farming and stock-raising country, and has grain elevators, flour mills, carriage shops, a foundry, etc. Building stone is quarried in the vicinity. There is a public-school library of 3000 volumes. Population, in 1890, 1756; 1900, 1727.
MINNEAPOLIS. The largest city of Minnesota, and the county-seat of Hennepin County, situated at the Falls of Saint Anthony, on the Mississippi River, above Saint Paul, the suburbs of which join those of Minneapolis, the two municipalities being termed ‘Twin Cities.’ The river, which divides the city into unequal portions, the main portion being on the right bank, is crossed by a number of massive highway and railroad bridges. The Falls of Saint Anthony are in the heart of the manufacturing district.
Minneapolis stands on a gently undulating
plateau, 800 feet above sea-level, in a picturesque
lake region much frequented as a place of
resort. There are several lakes within the city
limits, and of others in the immediate vicinity.
Lake Minnetonka is the largest and most popular.
The city is about 10 miles long by 6 in
width, and has an area of 53 square miles. Its
streets are broad and regular. An extensive
park system has been developed. There are
some twenty parks, comprising a proportionately
large area of 1581 acres. Attractive driveways,
of which the Kenwood Boulevard (150 feet wide)
is an example, skirt the lakes, constituting a
picturesque feature of the park system. Loring
Park, in the centre of the city, contains a fine
lake and Fjelde's statue of Ole Bull. Minnehaha
Park, of 133 acres, is a picturesque tract, embracing
the Falls of Minnehaha, 50 feet in height,
which have beeen immortalized by Longfellow's
Hiawatha. Adjoining the park are the beautiful
grounds of the State Soldiers' Home, occupying
60 acres. Minneapolis has many handsome
edifices, both public and private. The Court House
and City Hall was completed at a cost of more
than $3,000,000 in 1902. It is built of
Minnesota granite, and is 300 feet square, inclosing
a large open court. The tower commands a
superb view of the city from its height of 345
feet. The post-office and the public library
are fine Romanesque structures. The latter
contains a collection of 12,000 volumes, an art
gallery and school of art, and the Museum of the
Minnesota Academy of Natural Sciences. The
Guaranty Building, 12 stories high, is conspicuous
among the office buildings of the city. Other
prominent structures are the New York Life
Insurance Building, Masonic Temple, West Hotel,
Chamber of Commerce, Andrus Building, and the
Lumber Exchange. Minneapolis is the seat of the
University of Minnesota (q.v.), on the grounds
of which is a statue of ex-Governor John S.
Pillsbury, by French. Other educational institutions
are Augsburg Seminary (Lutheran),
established in 1869; the medical department of
Hamline University (Saint Paul), the Northwestern
Conservatory of Music, Morgan Hall, and Stanley
Hall. There are numerous private and public
charitable institutions, and a bureau of associated
charities which is organized for coöperation and
general superintendence.
Commerce and Industry. The conditions which have contributed most to the industrial development of Minneapolis are the advantages afforded by the Falls of Saint Anthony and their convenient location in relation to the abundant grain and timber of the Northwest. Excellent transportation facilities give the city command over these supplies and over the markets of the country. Twenty-two lines of railway, operated under ten systems, enter the city. With these advantages, Minneapolis has developed into the
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