1873.] 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
93 
Trapping the Mink. 
BY O. S. BAYEEY. 
Tile Mink, so highly valued for its fur, being 
an amphibious animal, is equally at home upon 
the land or in the water. It is widely distri¬ 
buted, being an inhabitant of the South as well as 
The next tiling is the bait. This should bo 
small fish of two or three ounces weight. In the 
absence of fish, the carcass of tlie ground-squir¬ 
rel, or a piece cut from the body of a muskrat, 
will answer the purpose well. Mice and frogs 
also make a very good bait. Having provided 
these essentials, the trapper is ready for work. 
If there is a lake or pond near, with numer- 
trap set as near to shore as possible, and yet be 
entirely covered with water. The trap is set 
under water, not because a Mink would not be 
as likely to enter if set on land, but to pre¬ 
vent squirrels, cats, weasels, and other worthless 
game from being caught. 
For a tally-stick, a bush of the size of a man’s 
thumb is cut, and thrust through the ring on the 
Fig. 2.—TRAPPING THE MINK ON LAND. 
Fig. 1.— TRAPPING THE MINK IN STREAMS. 
of the frozen regions of the North. He ranges 
both in ivoodland and meadow, usually follow¬ 
ing the course of some stream, and often passing 
in his wanderings through thickly inhabited 
districts. A small stream issuing from a swamp, 
or a brook which has its source in some pond, 
is, if well stocked with fish, his favorite haunt. 
From their extremely rapid movements and 
nocturnal habits, it is seldom that minks are 
seen by the ordinary observer ; hence they may 
be comparatively plenty in localities where they 
were not supposed to exist. Small fish form 
their principal food, and are caught with sur¬ 
prising readiness. They sometimes traverse 
the shores of ponds in quest of food. The 
Mink kills and eats 
birds and many of 
the smaller quadru¬ 
peds, even master¬ 
ing those of twice its 
size, often destroy¬ 
ing them, as it 
would seem, in 
sport, or merely for 
the purpose of 
drinkingtheir blood. 
Sometimes it ap¬ 
proaches a farm¬ 
house and works 
havoc among the 
poultry, usually es¬ 
caping undetected. 
The relentless¬ 
ness with which 
trapping has been 
pursued has threat¬ 
ened, in some locali¬ 
ties, the extermina¬ 
tion of the Mink, 
and the legislature 
of at least one State has properly made it 
punishable by fine to kill a mink between the 
months of March and November following. 
The trapper first procures a sufficient number 
of small steel traps to cover the territory he in¬ 
tends to occupy. A trap with one spring is 
preferred, as it is easily set and is fully reliable. 
A strong chain, some two feet or more in length, 
with a ring at the end, is attached to the trap. 
ous small streams falling into it, he takes an easy- 
running boat, and makes a circuit of the shore. 
Having approached one of these tributary 
streams, he ascends it for a short distance, to 
find a convenient place for depositing the traps, 
sets two to foui', returns, and passes on to the 
next stream. At intervals of about four or 
five days the trapper visits the traps, for the 
purpose of taking out game and rebaiting. 
Sometimes the trapper makes up his pack, 
and takes a circuit through the country, so as to 
strike as many different streams as possible. At 
each crossing he puts in two or more traps. 
This is done on the supposition that, if there 
is game in the neighborhood, it will be likely 
to pass traps set at any given point upon 
the stream, in due course of time. 
The manner of depositing the trap and bait is 
somewhat peculiar. Unlike the cautious and sa¬ 
gacious Fox, the Mink seems to have no fear of a 
naked trap, and cares but little for any traces 
left by the hand of man; hence the precaution 
necessary in setting a fox-trap is not required. 
A place is selected in shallow water, and the 
chain. No oilier fastening is necessary, as there 
is no danger of the game escaping with the trap. 
A stick is thrust into the bed of the stream in 
a slanting direction over the trap. On this the 
bait is hung, about fourteen inches above the 
trap. A few leaves stuck on the end of the bait- 
rod, so as to cover the bait, will keep it moist, 
and prevent birds from disturbing it. 
It is rare that a mink breaks away from the 
trap if fairly caught, but from humane reasons 
alone, it is always best to arrange the tally-stick 
so that lie can plunge into deep water and 
drown himself. This he is almost certain to do, 
in six or eight inches of water. 
Another plan adopted by many skillful trap¬ 
pers, is to form a 
triangular inclosure 
by driving short 
stakes into the 
ground, as shown 
in fig. 2. One side 
is left open for an 
entrance, and for a 
cover a few ever¬ 
green boughs are 
used. The bait is 
pinned by a forked 
stick to the ground 
in the point of this 
inclosure, and the 
trap set in front in 
such a manner that 
the game must pass 
over it in order 
to reach the bait. 
The season for 
trapping the Mink 
is of short duration 
—from March till 
late in the month of 
October. The fur is short, pale, and almost lus¬ 
terless. As soon as frosty nights occur, the fur 
begins to lengthen, deepens in color, and ac¬ 
quires the silken texture and beautiful luster 
which are so admired, while the flesh side of the 
pelt turns from a bluish black to an almost 
snowy whiteness. The fur is now in its best con¬ 
dition. From this time until cold weather stops 
his operations, is the hunter’s harvest. In the 
A smithfield prize-ox.— {See next page.) 
