OPOSSUMS AND OTHER SMALL ANIMALS 323 



PHOTOGRAPH OF A FISHER 

 PROBABLY FAST IN A TRAP. 



woodpile wus a 

 good place fer 

 that weasel. Out 

 o' the middle of 

 the woodpile 

 there wus an' old 

 apple tree grow- 

 ing which had a 

 few little dried 

 up apples and no 

 leaves worth mentioning on it. The tree wus about 

 dead and the branches came up to my winder. 

 When I got up th' next mornin' about four o'clock 

 it wus rainin' pitchforks, but I noticed ther' wus 

 somein' a matter with th' old apple tree. It had 

 fruited durin' th' night, but when I w r ent to ex- 

 amine that 'ere fruit, by gum, it turned out ter be 

 rats. Yes, sir-ee. As sure as I am here the tree 

 wus filled with great big rats. I counted twenty- 

 five of 'em on one branch. Traps ! Why, sir, one 

 weasel will beat all the cats, dogs and traps yer can 

 git. I did set some traps one night an' kivered 

 thim up with leaves. In th' mornin' I found six 

 mink in th' traps, but nary a rat ! I caught twenty 

 polecats in the traps. Smell bad? No, sir. I 

 jest hung 'em up in a tree fer a day or two and 

 then skun 'em. But say, after I skunned those pole- 

 cats, I went out to the woodpile ter git some 

 wood, and that ther' weasel came out, took one 

 look at me an' pretty near sneezed his head off 

 rubbed his nose with both paws and tuk ter th' 



