The Colfax chronicle. [volume] (Colfax, Grant Parish, La.) 1877-1981, 1884-05-24
GRANDFATHER'S MINK.


State Of Maine were the homes and the
hunting grounds of large numbers OF
minks. They had not then learned to
fear men, and, simple and unsuspicious,
they were easily enticed into the dead
falr' traps that the hunters set for
them. Nearly every farmers boy OF
that time was an amateur trapper, ana
most of the boys were successful in Sc
curing substantial pack OF fur in each
of the long snowy winters.
b. But these warm-coated little quadru-
peds are much less numerous to-day
than they were sixty years ago, and are
not so easily trapped. They seem to
have learned something of the danger
Gus ingenuity of man, and to have be-
come wary. Like the partridge OF the
cleared lands, they have developed
shyer instincts.
For this reason it often happens that
when the boy Of to-day tries his hand
ut trapping his success is not encour-
aging. Middle-aged or old men who
note his unsuccessful attempts, remem-
bering the numbers of mink they used
TO catch when they were boys, are in
clined to laugh at him, and to intimate
prove their assertions they sometimes
tell large stories of the quantity OF fur
they used to take in single week.
Such, at least, was the experience OF
my Cousin Addison and myself when
we tried to trap otter and mink on the
brooks and ponds ON the old farm in
Maine. We spent good deal of time
and took very little fur; and grand.
father, who viewed our operations and
our frequent neglect of farm work with
not altogether approving eye. rather
more than limited to us that the mantle
of his youthful skill as trapper had
not descended upon his degenerate
grandsons.
:. where in the world are those boys,
mother?" he would sometimes ask.
.srhey arc not husking. They have
hardly touched ear Of corn this week,
and they are not in the potato-field more
than half the time; and those potatoes
ought to be dug"
"a al guess they're pottering round the
+, pond or the Mill Brook with their mink.
traps" grandmother would say.
s'Mink-traps! Nonsense! A deal OF
good it does for them to set traps! They
haven't caught a mink this fall, and
don't seem to have the knack for set
ting trap. Why, when l was a boy,
I've caught over thirty minks in one
fall in that brook. ] only had couple
of hours once in every three days, ant
here those BOYS of our'n are fussine
round the brook half the time and dom
catch minkr'
Cousin Nell reported this converse
ton to us, half out Of friendliness anc
half from the malicious delight which {
girl always feels in tormenting a boy
after she has learned his weak and mos
sensitive points.
We were forced to bear these impu
tations on our skill without reply. IL
tell the truth, there was little to say
We knew that grandfather, when |
boy, had caught large numbers o
mink. And when we once ventured Il
suggest that mink were more numerou
and holder in those early days thai
they are now, grandfather cried:
.:Pooh! Why, / saw one only tn
other day right out here in the brool
by the barn, playing round there il
broad daylight!'
And that was true. We knew tina
mink very well. He had lived Their
all summer. But neither we nor an
other living hunter could have got tn
cautious little fellow into trap.
When boy, grandfather had caugf
minks ON the banks of this very broo
in common box-traps, such as we use
to set for striped squirrels. His trap
were of hard wood boards, three fet
long by a foot in height. and wei
baited with trout. They had a sprin
button to hold the ''drop" down whe
it had been sprung.
But now we should as soon have e.
pected to get mink into parlor stoy
rs into box-trap! They are much to
wary for any such clumsy device. Thi
however, is trait of development tn,
all old hunters are very slow to believ
No arguing, for example, could ha,
convinced grandfather that minks coul
not Just as readily be caught in DO,
traps now as they could have bee
caught sixty years ago-if only the tral
were made and set with the skill an
cunning that was used when he caugl
them.
Tired at length with our lack of SUI
cess, he determined to make one of b
good, old-fashioned traps, and show
our inefiiciency by catching the mil
that frequented the brook by the bal
the one we had declared could not
caught in any kind OF a trap.
He secretly made his trap at hou
when we were away from the hous
but Nell told us what he was doing, al
of course we were somewhat disturbe
If he should happen 70 catch tn
mink" Add said to me, eve shall new
hear the last of it"
It may be surmised. therefore, tn
the old gentleman did not have o
most fervent wishes for the success
his trapping. So much had been sa
that we awaited the completion of |
trap with some anxiety; AMI watch
the baak of the brook continually.
At length one Saturday afternoon '