Ellsworth American. [volume] (Ellsworth, Me.) 1855-current, 1921-05-04
"REMINISCENCES.
Wild Cats, Muskrats, Minks, and One
Old Coon.
(By n. V. Tlbbetts.)

| Four dollars for a muskrat skin!
What would l have thought of that
price when a boy fifty years ago liv-
ing in Brooksville, Maine?
| learned the secret of trapping at
that time from an old trapper, Jere-
miah Grindle, who came to live on
| the next farm to ours. We called
him at times wild Cat Jerry" The
State then paid bounty of SIS on
wild cats. | don't know whether it
pays a bounty now or not, but it was
good law then, for Jerry cleaned
our town and the surrounding towns
of wild cats, which caused the ruffed
grouse and rabbits to increase won
derfully in that vicinity, as they were
/ the natural food of the wild cat. He
could trap the cat by dragging
piece of meat over the snow and set
ting his trap under dry leaves, but he
relied mostly upon his trained dog to
follow and tree them, and to his
trusty rifle.
The first lesson Jerry gave me was
how to catch muskrats. A muskrat
is attracted in the night by anything
that is white. They will even swim
up to white spot painted on rock.
For bait | always used sliced parsnip.
1t not only showed white, but they
love parsnip as cat loves catnip.
When short of parsnip | have used
! Just white shavings from a stick with
success.
One should never set trap in a
road that they make on the shore.
If caught, they will gnaw their foot
, off and get away about five times out
of six. The bank of pond or river
is the proper place. Choose rather
steep place where the water is few
! feet deep close to the bank, make
place for your trap in the bank with
the heel of your boot, just at the
| water edge. Place two pieces of
parsnip behind the trap, and if the
trap is heavy enough to drown him,
! you can be reasonably sure of rat
the next morning.
The best bait for trapping mink
that l found was the hind legs Of
muskrat. Mink travel mostly at
night, sometimes few yards back
! from the shore of the lake or brook,
but one can be quite sure if he
catches mink he will stay in the
trap, as | never knew one to ampu-
tate his leg and escape like the
muskrat.
don't remember of catching but
one coon. There was a brook near
the old red schoolhouse where l went
to school in Brooksville where l used
to set traps for minks after school
was out and tended them in the
morning on my way to school
One of the boys named Charlie in
vested all of his capital in new
trap and went with me one evening
| TO 70 re cI,
him good place and staked his
trap secure as l thought. The next
morning when l went to the brook |
looked to see if Charlie had caught
anything. but his trap was gone l
concluded that he had been there
ahead of me and removed it, but
later the next day some of the boys
told me that Charlie claimed that I
had stolen his trap, as it was gone,
and he saw my tracks near where he
| had set it. / felt rather bad, but
| said nothing to him.
l was then very much interested in
| trying to catch coon in a trap that
l had set where l had seen his tracks
in the soft earth near the brook.
| That coon seemed determined to out
! wit me. He would come every
night and throw my trap to one side,
| and help himself to the leg of musk
| rat that | had baited it with, but l
got him at last by setting the trap in
| the brook where there was a little
| sand bar, and placing log for him
| to walk out on, as coon don't like
| to get his feet wet. l creased the
| tip end of the log with soft mud so
when he went to reach for the bait
that hung over the water he would
| lose his balance and his foot would
slide off into my trap, which was just
what happened. But when l found
him in my trap, judge of my sur
prise to find that he had Charles lost
trap on one of his hind toes.
| l carried the coon with both traps
on his feet to the schoolhouse to
show the boys. Charlie did not
apologize; it was not the custom
among boys, but in many ways he
showed me that he was sorry for
even suspecting me of stealing his
trap. We became chums until l left
the old town. We went from home
about the same time, and l never
heard from Charlie until about
thirty years afterwards, when one
day found letter from him on my
desk. He said that he was talking
to stranger from Washington and
asked him if he knew me. The man
happened to be employed as a clerk
in the same Office with me and gave
Charlie my address.
Charlie concluded his letter by
saying that the world had been kind
to him, he had prospered, had every
thing to make him happy, and that
he could well afford to entertain his
friends and expressed the hope that
l would some day come and make
him a visit and stay as long as l
could. AS l read his letter I could
not help smiling when l remem-
bered how that old coon I trapped
when boy came near making an
enemy instead of a friend of Charlie
one of the most generous, big
hearted, best fellows in the world
Jack PickfOrd