294 FIFTY YEARS A HUNTER AND TRAPPER. 



large cugalo swamp not the pleasantest place that one could wish 

 for a camp. 



The next day after we went into Camp No. 2, I set a few 

 traps near camp. Mr. Ford went down the creek toward his place 

 and set a few traps, and went home to look after his fish nets, 

 returning to cr.mp that evening. Mr. Ford had warned me that 

 the mink in th:.t section would foot themselves equally as bad as 

 muskrats, but as I had never been bothered with mink footing 

 themselves, I paid no attention to his warning. 



The next morning Mr. Ford stepped outside of the tent it 

 was about five o'clock and called to me, asking where I had set 

 my first trap on the creek, and being told, he replied, "Well, you 

 have caught a mink." When asked how he knew, he said, "Come 

 out and hear him squall." I ate breakfast and hastened down to 

 release the mink, but my haste was unnecessary for the mink did 

 not propose to wait for me, I found only the mink's foot the 

 mink had gone. 



I had never had a mink foot itself in this way before and 

 did not think that the mink did, although here in Alabama, we 

 'had two mink to foot themselves in one night. Had I heeded Mr. 

 Ford's warning, I would have been several mink pelts ahead. 



While there was considerable fur to be found in the vicinity 

 of Camp No. 2, it was a hard place to camp, owing to the scarcity 

 of camp wood and the inconvenience of getting water, so we 

 moved on to Beaver Dam creek, in Limestone county, where we 

 were in hopes of finding a few beaver and quite a plenty of mink 

 and coon. But we were sadly disappointed; we found but little 

 to trap, but found trappers and trap-lifters in abundance, so made 

 haste to get out of that country while we had our boats left. Our 

 catch was only two mink, twelve rats, five coon and one or two 

 'possum. 



We moved from this place back into Madison County and 

 pitched our camp at a point known as the Sinks, where we did a 

 better business. But the rainy season soon set in, so we were 

 compelled to break camp and get out, leaving a good part of our 

 traps where we had set them, now under several feet of water. 

 We shall never see them again. 



