FERRETS, MINK, SXUXK, RACCOON, ETC. 125 



burrow or den back in this hollow i)lace. So I 

 put the ferret in the leaves, and stood ready to 

 open fire on what I thought was a rabbit. All 

 at once I heard an awful rumbling noise and a 

 pheasant came flopping out. 



^'I once put a ferret up in a small hollow in a 

 beech tree, on an old male grej squirrel. The 

 ferret immediately attacked the squirrel and 

 worked some eight or ten minutes but could not 

 start the squirrel. At last the ferret came down 

 unhurt, then I twisted the squirrel out witb a 

 grape vine.'' 



The following is from a part}^ living in Du- 

 buque County, Iowa : ^'One morning when there 

 was about an inch and a half of snow I took Old 

 Billy, my ferret, gun, and started to go over my 

 trap line. I had taken the ferret along once 

 before to chase a weasel out of a hole, which the 

 ferret did nicely. I saw the weasel go in the hole 

 so thought would try the ferret. I put Billy in 

 the hole and watched ready with my .22 repeater 

 to see or hear the fun. I had to wait only a 

 minute or so when out came the weasel with the 

 ferret on him. Well he sure did finish that toy. 



^^Now back to where I started. The first hole 

 I came to saw where a skunk had gone in. I 

 hesitated a few minutes then decided to try Old 

 Billy once. It would probably mean either death 



