The Cambria freeman. [volume] (Ebensburg, Pa.) 1867-1938, 1880-09-03
A VERY GRATEFUL MINK.
THE BEST FISHING STORY PIKE COUNTY Has
FURNISHED FOR MANY DAY.

THE BEST FISHING STORY PIKE COUNTY HAS
FURNISHED FOR MANY A DAY.
The New York sun says that ex-PoIice
Justice John Scott spends few days every
summer with his friend Ferdinand LeClerc,
in Milford, Pike county, Pa. He returned to
New York few days ago from this seasons I
visit, and as on other occasions, had some re- /
markable experiences to relate when he
reached home.
Il don't think l can ever look at mink
muff again without shedding tears says the
judge. ga party of us was camped twenty
miles from Milford, in the wilderness. Our
tent was pitched near trout stream. We
went for trout and woodcock. We'd had
terribly bad luck, although some of the fel-
lows with me were about the best sporting
ducks in the country. One day l stayed in
camp while the others went fishing and hunt
ing. / was stretched out on the grass in front
of the tent, when l saw an animal stick its
head up out of the creek. 1t looked around
cautiously, and then crawled up the bank
II was a mink, and steel trap was fast to
one of its fore legs. l raised up and the
mink dragged itself right towards me. 1t
stopped every few seconds, laid its head fiat
on the ground, and looked at me with the
most pitiful look ever saw. | first thought
I'd shoot the animal, but changed my mind
as l wanted to see what its strange actions
meant. The mink crept mp to within two
feet of me, and turning over on its back held
mp the paw that had the trap on it. There
was no need of Its saying word if it could,
for the action said as plain as words, Please,
now, take this trap off, won't you? - You
can bet that in less time than it takes to tell
it, l had that mink free from its cruel in
cumbrance. Its eye spoke volumes of thanks
and it limped back to the creek and disap-
peared.
"The incident slipped my mind in a short
time. The boys came in late in the after
noon They had about a dozen little trout
and three woodcock. There wasn't enough
to make smell in the frying-pan. We made
/ up our minds that all the trout we'd have for
/ breakfast would be hunk of salt pork. We
turned in that night all in low spirits, deter
mined to 90 home the next day.
81 got up early in the morning to get
piece of sunrise in the mountain that L d read
so much about. There was a big fiat rock on
the outside of the tent, near the entrance.
When I stepped out and my eyes fell on the
rock | was startled and no mistake. The
fact of the matter Is, we were all afraid of
rattlesnakes, and had with us a festive DEM
John of Pike county antdote, which we had
now and then tested, and when l saw on that
rock as plain as day, a pile of the biggest
trout l ever set my eyes on, thought maybe
my nerves were little off. l went back and
woke up Baltus Westbrook and a sked him to
come out and see if there wasn't a bear track
along the edge of the creek. Thinks l, if
Baltus don't see them trout, l strikes in for
Milford and a doctor When Baltus stepped
out of the tent the first thing he saw was the
rock lie jumped about ten feet and fairly
yelled:
''Trout, by the living Jingol Where did
you catch EN-, judge -
81 was saved, but where the trout came
from was the mystery. ! suggested Provi
dence, but happened to remember the sec
tion of country we were in, and knew tha
couldn't be. There wasn't one of the trOu
that weighed less than pound. We didnr
let our speculation as to the source of thei
supply interfere with our appetites, and
there was no salt pork fried that morning
T The episode raised our spirits and we con
cluded TO stay another day. We had goo,
luck gunuing that day, and when we foun,
{ morning we made up our minds that som
; bark peelerS to whom we had given supple
1 a day or two before were repaying rs witt
these delicious surprises. But l made u
: my mind that would find out for certain
: So that night, afterthe rest had gone TO sleep
l crIwIed NY to the door of The hut and peer
: ed out. 1t was bright moonlight night, an
| could see almost as well as if it was day
About midnight, l saw something blac
! emerge from the creek. 1t came stealthil
: towards the tent. 1t was a small anima
e and as it came near the tent saw that it wa
5 a mink, and that it limped. In its mOut
: was a large trout, which it deposited on th
Y rock and then limped back to the creek. Ey
5 erything was as plain as double six to m
/ now The mink l had rescued from the ira
n was showing its gratitude by catching tn
T largest trout it could find in the creek, an
t placing them at my disposal.
= q told the boys the next morning. Baltu
!, Westbrook thought it was very kind of til
: mink. Sheriff Ridgeway said that it was II
n more than the mink ought to do, and that
, it had done anything less he would have ha
o a very poor opinion of it.
J. THAT day we concluded to break cam
: and 60 home. One of the party had taken
Il young dog out with him to give him som
5 training on woodcock. At the first fire {
y the gun the dog had made for another part {
= the county, and we never saw or heard of hi
d again. When we packed up our things, W
5 couldn't find the dogs chain and collar it W,
, fastened TO, and we started without it.
: was walking out Of the woods behind Il
If wagon. We hadn't got more than hundre
n yards away from camp when heard a nois
. behind me | looked back. There was thu
f mink, limping at my heels. lie had .ie co
e lar about his neck, and when ! turned aroun
4 he raised up on his hind feet and held Il
= chain UP to me with his fore paws. Th
n mink was so blame grateful to me that
n wau5cd me 10 take him home with me.
- touched me to the heart. l took him in. bl
m poor fellow, the rap had injured him 50 ba
c IL that he died nf iock-jaw -
.v ANXToUs To SAVE His BEOTsEB.-X este
o. ,lo,- ai,os4 ono s'clocL, q ,fo,- nF abot u-pl