INDIAN METHODS.
Oftentimes while walking through the winter wood I find the track of
a mink, that starts or ends in a brook or pond, says a New England
trapper. To set a trap in this case, if the snow is light, I do as
follows:
First, I use a drag around the woods where the track is seen. To make
this I kill an old hen or rooster, split it open, and mix equal parts
of fish oil and the juice that comes with oysters. If the track is
very old, I add an equal part of oil of assafoetida, and put the
mixture inside the hen, leaving the entrails in and sew it up
loosely. Then I tie it to a rope, and starting at the point where the
track leaves the water, drag it through the woods, not very far,
ending in the brook again. At several places along the line I secrete
traps, exactly in the path made by the drag.
A mink, striking the scent will follow it, and, there being no bait
to scare him or arouse his suspicions, will run along the track until
he gets into one of the traps. This is a good set to use in woods
where a bait would mean having your traps lifted by John Sneakum. I
don't know how it will work with others, but I have had fine success
with it, especially in the cases of old "bait-shy mink."
Here is another set shown me by an old half-breed Indian. We were in
a light canoe, and were paddling up a little reed-fringed brook, from
ten to thirty feet wide. In the weeds were several muskrat houses. As
it was spring, they were all finished and the rats were no longer
working on them. The old man set two traps on the house, and barely
under water. Then he put a few drops of the scent that is found in a
sack just under the root of the mink's tail, on a leaf on the very
top of the muskrat house; and then placed a small piece of muskrat
with the fur on, beside the scent, fastening it with a skewer.
He said, "mink, come 'long and smell 'nother mink an' muskrat on top
house. He clim' up, get caught, an' all drown good." "But," said I,
"muskrats will climb up too, 'cause you've got muskrat meat for
bait." "Oh-h-h no!" he chuckled. "Muskrat he heap 'fraid of mink. We
have mink to-morrer-wonca, numpaw, yawha, yawminee mink (1, 2, 3, 4
mink). You see? Then you no call ol' In'jun big fool." Sure enough
next morning he had shagipee (6) mink to show for as many sets. The
principle was that the muskrat wouldn't climb up, for he would see
the fur and smell the mink scent, and think it was a mink.
[Illustration: INDIAN TRAPPER.]
Mink often follow muskrat trails, especially in the fall before the
snow comes. To set a trap in the trail would mean to catch a rat, and
make a meal for a mink; so I post a rooster's head about two feet
from the trail and set a No. 1 1/2 trap under it. The rat isn't
likely to leave the trail for the head, but the mink will, unless he
is hot after a muskrat.
When brooks unite and form a "Y" there is often a little sand pit
left in the crotch of the "Y." I hang a piece of muskrat meat with
mink scent on it upon a small stick leaning out over my trap, which
is set in two or three inches of water, and staked out so as to drown
the mink.
An Indian subscriber of the Hunter-Trader-Trapper and who writes of
his experiences occasionally to that interesting magazine, in one
season caught with dog and trapped in Northwestern Pennsylvania 104
mink. The name of this Indian is John Lord, and he has trapped as far
west as California. The illustration shows him to be a young man. The
picture shown here was taken in 1905 when he was hunting and trapping
in Pennsylvania.
The 104 mink were caught during the season of 1905-6, and as the
pelts were high then it can be seen that he makes considerable money.
The fact that he caught that number is pretty well established by
several well known parties. John is an Iroquois and a good fellow and
trapper.