The Bossier banner. [volume] (Bellevue, Bossier Parish, La.) 1859-1952, 1884-04-24
GRANDFATHER'S MINK.

Sixty years ago the brooks in the
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 unsuspieious,
they we're easily enticed into the s'dead-
fali' traps that the hunters set for
them. Nearly every farmers boy of
that time was an amateur trapper, and
most of the boys were successful in Sc
curing substantial pack of fur in each
Of the long snowy winters.
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
ct 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
eIined to laugh at him, and to intimate
that he does not know how to do it. To
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
be and H.. Ahx Al s.,
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,
nl0ther?" he would sometimes ask.
They are not husking. They have
hardly touched an ear of corn this week,
andthey are not in the potato-feld more
than half the time; and those potatoes
ought to be dug.
Il guess they're pottering round the
pond or the Mill Brook with their mink
traps grandmother would say.
"Mink-traps! Nonsense! A deal of
good it does for them to set traps! They
haven't caught mink this fall, and
don't seem to have the knack for set
ting trap. Why, when | was boy,
I've caught over thirty minks in one
fall in that brook. I only had couple
Of hours once in every three days, and
here those boys of our'n are fussing
round the brook half the time and don't
catch minkr'
Cousin Nell reported this conyersa-
tion to US, half out of friendliness and
half from the malicious delight which a
glrl always feels in tormenting boy
after she has learned his weak and most
sensitive points. orr
We were forced to bear these impu-
tatlons on our skill without reply. To
tell the truth, there was little to say.
we knew that grandfather, when a
boy, had caught large numbers OF
mink And when we once ventured to
tuggest that mink were more numerous
ana holder in those early days than
'hey are now, grandfather cried:
Pooh! Why, saw one only the
other day right out here in the brook
y the barn, playing round there in
broad daylightt'
ana that was true. We knew that
mink very well. He had lived there
Oh summer. But neither we nor any
otner living hunter could have got the
caurous little fellow into trap.
when boy, grandfather had caught
ialnks on the banks of this very brook
u common box-traps, such as we used
Y set for striped squirrels. His traps
Wereof hard wood boards, three feei
,ong by a foot in height, and were
AlIed with trout. They had a spring
naston to hold the drop down when
y mad been sprung.
nut now we should as soon have ex.
peeted to get mink into parlor stove
= INTO box-trap! They are much toe
vary Tor any such clumsy device. This
nvWeFer. is a trait of development tha
y, oia hunters are very slow TO believe
no arguing, for example. could have
Whsinced grandfather that minks coulo
hOt Just as readily be caught in box.
aaps now as they could have beer
oaagnt sixty years ago If only the trap.
Ssfe made and set with the skill anC
them. s'N>' " - ~ os =
Tired at length with our lack Of sue
ss, ne determined to make one of hi.
soOa, old-fashioned traps, and show u.
sa SaI ineiiiciency by catching the mini
hss ireqaented the brook by the barr
ne one we had declared could not b,
@.gnt IN any kind of trap.
at az secretly made his trap at hour
aen We we're away from the house
~ Nen told us what be was doing, ane
ara eeufse we were somewhat disturbed
y ue should happen to catch tha