Chapter XIII: Front Matter (13)

Mink are rarely caught, because they are very crafty and keen to the scent of a human being. Once in a while they are caught in a trap set in the water or in the entrance to a muskrat house. This is accounted for by the fact that the mink preys largely upon these weaker animals in the winter when food is scarce. Sometimes they can be lured with a muskrat carcass or a dead bird. If the trap is not set under water there is little probability of getting the mink. The trapping of mink should be encouraged, because they kill not only muskrats, but chickens and other domestic fowl as well. One must use his own judgment and set his trap in a place frequented by the mink. Prime mink skins usually bring three or four dollars from any local fur dealer. On the other hand muskrats are more plentiful and bring only about thirty cents. Thus it is that some boys prefer to keep the muskrat skins and tan them at home. From these skins they make comfortable caps and gloves.

To skin the muskrat and mink, commence on the hind legs. The skin is slit down one leg and up the other. With muskrats the tail is cut away from the rest of the skin. The mink's tail adds greatly to the value of the skin, so the bone is carefully extracted with a pair of pincers and the tail left on the skin. The skin is then gradually peeled down over the body and head. It is then stretched with the fur side inward on a board as shown in the figure on this page. After this it is hung in a dry, airy place to dry, away from the sun. For home tanning a fresh pelt needs only salt, but the following solution gives somewhat better results and makes the skin more pliable:

Salt, two pounds.

Sulphuric acid (com.) two ounces.

Rain water, one gallon.

The pelt should remain immersed in the solution for about two days. When taken out it must be first nearly dried and then the flesh side scraped and rubbed until soft with some dull steel instrument, such as an old blunt chisel. Care should be taken not to break the skin as it is very fragile in some places, especially on the belly.

The land animals can be caught in snares or deadfalls. Very likely most boys know of these, but I have illustrated them here in the forms which I think have served me best. Usually only the smaller animals are caught in the snare, such as rabbits and squirrels. To bait for either of these corn or apple is commonly used, although onion makes a good scent bait to draw rabbits from afar. Besides these named nearly any green vegetable or fruit will answer very well. These animals being maybe the least wary of them all are therefore very easy to catch. For an opossum green corn and a little raw meat is all that is necessary, while for a raccoon a crawfish may be added. This latter is considered the best, and hardly ever fails to lure the raccoon. The skins of the raccoon and opossum bring about a dollar and a half, and half a dollar, respectively.

Rabbits and squirrels are caught as game, while raccoons together with opossum are considered eatable by most trappers. The up-to-date people who order "marsh rabbits" at the most fashionable restaurants are eating no other than muskrat. These they eat with a great relish under the new name. I will add that it makes a great difference in eating a muskrat whether you let your imagination get the best of you. Many times I have eaten muskrat with quite as much comfort as though I were eating rabbit. Naturally the meat has a very strong taste which must be removed before cooking, by soaking over night in salt water. Young fat woodchucks are also frequently eaten.

It is hard to set down on paper just how and where to set the traps and it can only be learned from another trapper or by experience. The most important thing is to observe closely and learn the habits of the animals.

STANLEY COVILLE

CURING AND TANNING SKINS

The boy trapper must know how to take the skins from the animals he traps, and how to treat them to preserve their beauty and value. The skin should be taken off before it becomes tainted, and with greatest care not to injure it. Some skins are exceedingly tender. Be careful to remove bits of fat or flesh; left to dry on the skin, these detract from its value.

No artificial dressing is needed to cure or dry a skin. The fresh skin should be tacked to a smooth board or drawn over a stretcher, fur side in, so that the air can get at it freely. It should not be put in the sun, or rain, or artificial heat.

When thoroughly dry, the skin is ready for market or it may be tanned at home. A boy fortunate enough to obtain a valuable pelt like that of marten, mink, or otter, will certainly want to try his hand at tanning. You want first to be sure to use a mixture which will not injure the fur but will fix it more firmly in its place. Never put any dressing on the fur itself. You also want the skin to be soft and pliable so that it can be made up into some form of garment. The following directions are adapted from "The Tricks of Trapping" by W. Hamilton Gibson, a reliable source of all trapping lore for American boys: "After every particle of loose flesh and fat is removed from the skin, it should be soaked for a couple of hours in warm water. While waiting, prepare this mixture: Take equal parts of saltpetre, borax, and sulphate of soda. Mix with enough water to make a thin batter. Paint the wet skin over thickly on the flesh side. Fold the skin flesh side in and lay in an airy place, for twenty-four hours.

"On the following day prepare a second mixture consisting of two parts sal-soda, three parts borax, four parts castile soap. Melt these together over a slow fire. Apply this mixture in the same manner as the first, twenty-four hours later. Fold skin as before and leave another twenty-four hours. Make a third mixture of equal parts of common salt and alum, dissolved in warm water and thickened with coarse flour to the consistency of thin paste. Allow this to dry on, then stretch the skin lightly and scrape off the hardened paste with the bowl of a spoon. Sometimes a second or even a third treatment with the last mixture is required to make the skin absolutely pliable, after which it should be finished with sand-paper and pumice stone. A skin thus dressed should be soft as velvet. The alum and salt set the hair securely."