Chapter 3 THE MINK.

The mink is a small carnivorous animal, belonging to the weasel family. It is found throughout the United States and the greater part of Canada and Alaska. A distinct species is also found in Europe and Asia. In North America there appears to be several varieties, varying considerably in size and color. A large, light-colored variety is found in the country drained by the Mississippi River and its branches, and also in the prairie country of Canada.

This variety sometimes reaches the weight of four pounds, or even more, and the skin, when properly stretched, will sometimes measure thirty-six or thirty-eight inches from tip to tip. A smaller and darker variety is found in the Eastern States and the Eastern parts of Canada and Lake Superior regions, and a still smaller and very dark colored mink is found in Northern Maine and parts of New Brunswick. A small, light colored variety is found on the Pacific coast.

The mink has a long, slender body, a small head, and rather short legs. The tail is usually about eight inches long and is quite bushy. The fur is thick, fine and glossy, and the color varies from a very light brown to very dark. The usual color is dark brown, the fur on the tail being darker than that on the body.

The mating season commences about the last week in February and ends about the middle of March. The young are born in April, there being from four to six in a litter.

The mink is not an amphibious animal, but it is found only along the streams and watercourses, from which it obtains a large part of its food. It is a great rambler, traveling long distances along the streams and lakes, and always following the same route. When on these trips it explores the drifts and log-jams, holes in the bank, hollow logs, etc., which habit is taken advantage of by the trapper.

The fur of the mink is at its best during the months of November, December and January, in the north; while in the extreme south, they are only number one, during December and January. In February, the fur commences to fade, and they are not worth so much. The dark colored skins command the best prices.

The food of the mink consists of fish, frogs, birds, squirrels, mice, rabbits, muskrats, etc., all of which are good for bait. They are also very fond of poultry.

The traps most used for mink are the Nos. 1 and 1 1/2. The webbed jaw and the double jaw traps are especially desirable for mink, as when caught in these traps, they cannot escape by gnawing off the foot.

There are probably more methods used in trapping the mink than in trapping any other animal. In localities where they take bait well, the usual plan is to set the trap in the entrance to a natural or artificial enclosure, on the bank of the stream, placing a bait on the inside of the enclosure. The trap should be nested down, and covered with some light material in keeping with the surroundings. The trap may be fastened to a light clog or a balance pole, or if very close to the water, to a sliding pole. The bait should be strictly fresh. Some good scent may be used if desired. Hollow logs and holes in drifts and under stumps make good places for sets. Some trappers do not set in an enclosure, but hang the bait about eighteen inches above the trap. I do not, however, consider this a satisfactory method. When an artificial enclosure is used, it should be roofed over with bark, or evergreen boughs to protect that trap from the snow.

For fall trapping, many prefer to set traps in the water. The following method is one of the best for a water set: find a steep bank where the water is shallow, and runs smoothly and rapidly, make a hole in the bank, on a level with the water, making the hole about ten inches deep and about four inches in diameter. Put a piece of fresh bait back in the hole, fastening with a small stick, and set the trap in the water at the mouth of the hole. Stake the trap the full length of the chain into the water and cover with mud or water-soaked leaves.

Along the streams where little sand-bars lead out into the water select a place on one of these bars, where the water is only an inch or two in depth, set the trap under the water, close to the edge of the stream. Fix a small fish on the point of the stick, out in the stream a foot from the trap, pushing the stick down until the bait rests partly under water. Stake the trap so that the catch will drown. This is a very successful set and requires but little time and trouble to make.

In some localities the mink do not take bait well, in which case, blind sets--traps without bait must be depended upon. In the fall while the water is still open, find a high bank where the water leads off fairly deep, leaving only a very narrow strip of shallow water, at the foot of the bank. Set the trap in the edge of the water and stake full length of the chain into the stream. Place a couple of water-soaked leaves on the trap, and drop a few pinches of mud on them to hold them in place. The steep bank on one side and the deep water on the other, will guide the mink into the trap. If, however, the shallow water extends out some distance from the bank, take a chunk of water-soaked wood, and stand it in the water, just beyond the trap, leaving the top rest against the bank. This will leave only a narrow passage over the trap, and you may be pretty sure of catching your mink. A similar set should be made on the opposite side of the stream, if conditions are favorable. This is a very good method for use in the south.

After streams are frozen, a different plan must be adopted. In such cases if you can find a jam or drift extending across the stream, find an opening, leading through this drift, close to the bank, and set the trap in this opening, covering with fine, drift dirt. In case you cannot find a suitable passage, make one and stop up all other holes. A little scent of the right kind may be used here to good advantage.

Mink Set Under Log.

XX Shows Positions of Traps.

The illustration shows two traps set under an old log, spanning the stream. The log protects the traps from rain or snow, and a glance at the cut will show that it would be practically impossible for a mink to pass along the stream without being caught. The same set is good for the raccoon. If the stream is frozen fill the opening, under the log, with old, dead brush, so that there is no chance for the mink to pass, except over the traps.

Another good method for the wary mink is as follows: find a high, steep bank along the stream; if it overhangs, so much the better, and about two feet above the water, make a hole about four inches in diameter, and a foot or more deep. Leave the dirt that you dig out, rest directly in front of the hole, and set the trap in this dirt, covering with same. Pack dry moss around the jaws and cover the trap first with a sheet of paper, finishing with a thin layer of dirt. Put some good mink scent in the hole; the musk of the mink itself is best for this set. If the traps can be visited every day, it is a good plan to stake the trap, so that the mink will roll around over the ground, and the next one will be more easily caught.

Where mink travel around a lake, go to the outlet and lay a hollow log across the stream, just where the water leaves the lake. Set a trap in this log, covering with fine, rotten wood, and every mink that travels around the lake, will attempt to run through the log, and will be caught. If you cannot find a hollow log near at hand, build a covered passage-way of poles and chunks, and set your trap in this passage.

Mink may also be taken in box traps and deadfalls.

Scents are much used and there are some few which have proved attractive. Fish oil is one of the most common scents for mink and other animals. It is made by taking fish of almost any kind, cutting them into small pieces, and putting in a wide mouthed bottle. Let stand in a warm place, loosely covered, until the fish are thoroughly rotted, and in a liquid state; this scent may be used alone or combined with others.

If a female mink can be caught, during the mating season, remove the generative organs, and place them in a bottle, adding about two ounces of fish oil and all of the mink musk you can get. This is undoubtedly the best scent ever devised. It should be used without bait.

In traveling, the mink goes "the jump" and its foot-prints are always in pairs, the space between each set being from eighteen to twenty-four inches. The footprints will measure from one to one and one-fourth inches in length, with one always somewhat in advance of the other.

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The Weasel.

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