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^aZEMSBLS 
 
 Trapping, Raising and Pre* 
 paring Skins for Market 
 
 Copyrighted I910 
 
 by 
 E, M. BARNUM 
 

 ©CI.A261693 
 
INTRODUCTION, 
 
 Until the last few years the more valuable 
 fur-bearers have been so numerous that very 
 little attention has been paid to the w^easel. 
 Except when one was found robbing the 
 farmer's hen roost no one ever tried to trap 
 them, and when the hard-working trapper 
 found one in his mink or marten set it was 
 promptly thrown to one side with a curse. 
 
 Lately, prices of all furs have come up 
 to such an extent that even the common 
 animals have decreased greatly. The weasel 
 alone seems to be holding his own, having 
 but few enemies and plenty of food. The 
 price offered for his pelt is now drawing 
 more attention towards him. 
 
 Having seen so many queries about 
 their habits and the methods of capture in 
 a certain magazine (H.-T.-T.),I thought 
 that the following facts which I have gath- 
 ered would interest many: 
 
 E. M. B. 
 
CHAPTER I. 
 THE WEASEL. 
 
 This little animal is the smallest mem- 
 ber of the Marten family, to which nearly 
 all the smaller valuable fur-bearers of the 
 United States and Canada belong. They 
 have a strong odor peculiar to all the mem- 
 bers of the same family. 
 
 There is said to be about fifteen spe- 
 cies of weasel, but there is very little differ- 
 ence between them. Nearly all the weasels 
 turn white when the winters are cold enough, 
 although I am sure that there are a few that 
 do not. I have taken weasels from my traps 
 in the middle of winter and the fur for the 
 most part was dark brown and showed no 
 signs of turning, while six weeks before that 
 all the weasels caught were prime and white. 
 
 The change in color is due to the 
 weather, as white weasels are not found 
 where the winters are very mild. The fur 
 does not bleach and become white, as some 
 suppose, but is gradually shed after the white 
 coat underneath is well started. A com- 
 plete change of color may take place in 
 about ten days. The original fur remains 
 on the tip of the tail, which is always jet 
 black, and the under side of the body, which 
 
 2 
 
is white or light yellow always. Just before 
 the brown fur is shed, the fur underneath 
 has the appearance of the so-Called "cotton 
 mink." Weasels vary greatly in size, even 
 those in the same litter. I have caught 
 them measuring from ten to twenty inches 
 from tip to tip. As a rule the males are 
 the largest. They are very thin and mus- 
 cular and can go into any hole through 
 which thev^ can get their head. They can 
 also climb exceedingly well, being able to go 
 almost anywhere a squirrel can. 
 
 THE DEN. 
 
 The weasel is not very particular about 
 
 the den, and very often does not dig its own. 
 
 I have found their dens in almost every 
 
 place possible, such as old barns, haystacks, 
 
 brush piles, gopher holes, and, once, in the 
 
 skeleton of a horse. As a rule they have at 
 
 least two or three entrances to the den, and 
 
 so it, is hard to capture a full grown weasel 
 
 by digging it out. This is not always the 
 
 case, however, as on May 8. 1909, my dog 
 
 found a den in the center of an open field. 
 
 There was but one passageway leading to 
 
 the nest,, which was but eighteen inches 
 
 under ground-, and the dog dug the young 
 
 weasels out very quickly. There were six 
 
 of them, all packed tightly in the den. which 
 
 was not lined in any way with grass or leaves, 
 
as is generally the case. They did not seem 
 at all frightened and made no attempt to get 
 away when I picked them up. 
 
 The young are born about the first of 
 March and are blind for about six. weeks. 
 When two months old they are about two- 
 thirds grown and as soon as they are able to 
 hunt for themselves they leave the den and 
 take up life in some other territory, as they 
 seldom stay together. 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 THE WEASEL IN CAPTIVITY. 
 
 If they are captured before they have 
 left their den, one will have little or no 
 trouble in raising the weasel in confinement. 
 A pen eight feet long by three feet wide and 
 two feet high will be plenty large enough 
 for a family of six weasels. They make no 
 attempt to gnaw out, but will be apt to tun- 
 nel out underground if not prevented. The 
 meshes in the wire used in the enclosure 
 should not be more than ^ of an inch in di- 
 ameter, as the weasels can go through a very 
 small hole. Their yard should be about six 
 feet long by three wide. The nest box 
 should be about a foot and a half each way 
 and well ventilated, but dark, and in summer 
 should be kept as cool and shady as possible. 
 It is of great importance that the box is kept 
 
 4 
 
dry. As to nesting material, wood excelsior 
 is best, but if it is scarce or hard to get, hay 
 or straw does very well. Very little mater- 
 ial is required in summer, as the animals are 
 very apt to sweat. However, in winter, 
 plug up some of the ventilating holes and 
 make the box as warm as you can. Weas- 
 els are very cleanly and it is necessary to 
 clean only one corner of their cage. Be 
 sure that you keep drinking Water where 
 they can get it for they drink a good deal. 
 
 I never handle my animals very much 
 and never without gloves, although they 
 never have bitten me. If well treated and 
 not frightened they soon become tame and 
 will feed from the hand. 
 
 FOOD. 
 
 As regards feeding, I will say that while 
 the animals, of course, prefer raw meat, they 
 will eat almost anything given them and the 
 following list will give some idea as to the 
 variety of their diet. The list is given in 
 about the order that they prefer them: 
 
 Rabbits, mice, small birds, meat scraps, 
 grasshoppers, sweet corn, eggs, muskrats 
 frogs, small snakes, and anything on the order 
 of beetles and butterflies. They should be 
 fed only as much at a time as they will at 
 once clean up. Meat should be cut up in 
 
 5 
 
order that each one will get his share and to 
 prevent them from fighting. 
 
 Of course, they like best of all to kill 
 their food and they have no trouble in doing 
 so after they have tried It a few times. A 
 weasel will soon get so that he can kill a 
 large barn rat very quickly and without get- 
 ting a scratch in return. 
 
 The rat is always seized back of the 
 neck and the more he throws the weasel 
 around the more the weasel seems to like it. 
 The victim is not released until all the blood 
 is sucked from its body. While some people 
 say that a weasel will break a large egg and 
 suck it, none of my animals would do this 
 unless the eggs were first cracked for them. 
 After a large meal they will always curl up 
 for a long sleep. 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 TRAPPING. 
 
 Unlike most animals that have been 
 trapped much for their fur, the weasel is not 
 a bit trap-shy. They will enter an uncov- 
 ered trap as readily as a skunk or muskrat. 
 Almost any good trap will do to catch him, 
 but the three that I use altogether are the 
 common steel jaw trap, the wire rat trap 
 (when I want to capture one alive), and 
 
 6 
 
lastly, the wooden rat trap that snaps and 
 catches them by the head. 
 
 I use the first kind mostly, because a 
 skunk and even a mink very often happen 
 along, and this trap will always hold them. 
 Almost any good make will do, but I think 
 that the Hawley & Morton is the best of 
 the cheaper traps. The \% size nearly al- 
 ways kills the weasel, as they have a wider 
 spread of -jaw and catch them higher up. 
 However, they are much more expensive 
 than the No. 1 size, require more pressure to 
 set them off and can not be set in as small a 
 hole. Even with the No- 1 size the animal 
 is nearly always killed and is always caught 
 so high up that it can not escape. Before 
 setting steel traps for white weasels be sure 
 that the inner jaws are free from rust. It 
 would do all right to wrap them with strips 
 of paper or cloth. If the jaws are rusty they 
 will leave rust marks where they hit, which 
 it is almost impossible to remove. 
 
 In setting traps they should he set as 
 lightly as possible, as a weasel is not very 
 heavy. Weasels travel almost as much in 
 the day time as they do at night. They 
 nearly always return to the den which they 
 left to sleep. In a night's wandering they 
 will sometimes travel a distance of three or 
 four miles, usually in a circle. They are 
 
 7 
 
very keen scented and they will often stop 
 short on the trail and go a number of feet to 
 one side to dig up a mole or a mouse which 
 they had scented. Anyone can very easily 
 distinguish their tracks when they can be 
 plainly seen. When he i ravels at his usual 
 gait the weasel takes leaps about three feet 
 long, leaving two little marks about two 
 inches apart. The claw marks do not show, 
 as the feet are very furry. In running the 
 front feet move quite independently of the 
 hind feet, which hop. In the winter when 
 the swamps are frozen over, weasels travel 
 over them hunting for the mice that live in 
 the thick grass. When a swamp of this 
 kind is handy it is a sure place to set a trap. 
 
 If one of their runways can be found, a 
 steel trap should be set and a branch or some 
 other obstruction placed so that the weasel 
 will jump in the trap and not over it as he 
 might otherwise do. Bait need not be used 
 here unless the weasels have not been trav- 
 eling the runway much. If you wish to be 
 more certain of a catch a mouse or rabbit 
 would be fine for bait. If no suitable run- 
 way or hole can be found to set the trap in 
 make a pen with flat stones or boards just 
 large enough for a trap, and bait. Have 
 one end open and have the top high enough 
 to let the trap work freely- In this set 
 
 8 
 
either a s::eel trap, or a snap trap may be 
 used. All traps where bait is used should 
 be taken care of often, as the meat is eaten 
 in a few days by field mice.. 
 
 After the set is complete it may be con- 
 cealed by throwing over it some dead grass 
 or a piece of brushwood- While, as before 
 mentioned, the weasel is not afraid of an 
 uncovered trap, and there are signs of mink 
 or skunk around conceal the trap as well hs 
 possible and the chances are good for land- 
 ing one of them. For this reason a steel 
 trap ought to be used around such places 
 and it should not be smaller than a number 
 one size. Weasels run through every hol- 
 low log along their trail and the trapper 
 should never pass such a place without set- 
 ting a trap. Put a trap at each end and 
 stake them to the log. Throw a piece of 
 bait into the log and the set is complete. 
 
 In trapping for weasels I never set a 
 trap under water, nor where it is apt to be 
 flooded, as the weasel never enters the water 
 if he can help it. All traps should be staked 
 solidly. Whenever able to do so place the 
 enclosures where they will not drift over 
 with snow, and with the open side to the 
 south. When a trap is set at a hole that 
 goes straight into the ground, bank up 
 around the sides of the trap, so that the ani- 
 
 9 
 
mal, in going in and out of the hole, will be 
 forced to pass over the trap. In this part of 
 the country (Illinois) most of the holes are 
 of this kind, so I use this set more often 
 than any. In order to make a trail that the 
 weasels can follow to the traps, most trap- 
 pers usually drag a piece of rabbit or some 
 such bait by a piece of string to where the 
 trap is set. The traps are set about one 
 hundred and fifty yards apart and when the 
 animal strikes this trail he follows it to the 
 nearest trap and the rest is easy. 
 
 The weasel may always be found around 
 plowed fields where it lives off the mice and 
 birds found there. They may easily be 
 caught with just a few traps by making a 
 trail around the field and putting down a 
 couple of traps. Weasels like to run along 
 in ditches by the roadside. In places of this 
 kind bait pens are very good. If the road is 
 frequentl\^ traveled set the trap in a place 
 where people in passing by are not liable to 
 see or hear the weasel when it is in the trap. 
 It is not necessary to put the trap in the 
 ditch for the animal can smell the bait easily 
 if it is placed twenty or thirty feet to one 
 side. 
 
 Where meat bait is used do not fail to 
 put it ill the back part of the pen where it 
 can't be seen, or else cover it over with 
 
 10 
 
grass or something, otherwise the crows or 
 jays will take it and muss up the set, as. they 
 did. with mine until I concealed the bait. 
 When I set a trap where I have seen the 
 tracks of a weasel I never pull the trap up 
 for at least ten days or two wrecks, as they 
 very seldom travel the same route two days 
 in succession. I have found, hollow logs, 
 tiles, stone fences and ditches that were 
 traveled every night although there were 
 more than one weasel using them. 
 
 They may be takqn alive with either 
 one of the various .kinds of box traps or the 
 common wire rat trap. When I use the 
 wire trap I cover it completely with small 
 sticks an inch and a half or two inches in 
 diameter, leaving only the opening of the 
 trap showing and the set has much the ap- 
 pearance of a pile of wood. The weight 
 that is used to balance the door on these 
 traps is sometimes so heavy that a small 
 weasel cannot spring the door and it is neces- 
 sary to replace the weight with a lighter one. 
 
 The box trap is fully as good as the 
 ,wnre one in every way, but it takes quite a 
 little time to make one that will work prop- 
 erly. It is best to make traps out of weath- 
 ered boards as they will not show^ up so 
 plainly. A box fourteen inches long and six 
 inches square is plenty large enough. Have 
 
 ; ;' 11 
 
a sliding door and the trigger should be in 
 the back of the box. It is very important that 
 there are air holes in a box trap, otherwise 
 the animal would soon smother. The wea- 
 sel is not very apt to gnaw out of a carefully 
 made trap, but if the trap is not looked after 
 within a day after he is caught he might 
 harm himself. 
 
 Weasels are very easily poisoned when 
 they will eat bait, but they always travel 
 quite a distance before they die, and other 
 animals than the ones it is intended for are 
 so liable to get the poison that this method 
 of taking them is very seldom used. When 
 one has been found killing chickens and it is 
 not the fur that is wanted, it may be pois- 
 oned by chopping meat into small pieces 
 and poisoning it with a very small quantity 
 of arsenic, cyanide of potash or other poison 
 and placing the meat under a shed or in 
 a hole so the dog or chickens cannot reach 
 it. It very often happens thdt where the 
 winters are mild and there seems to be a 
 number of weasels around, judging from the 
 tracks, they are hard to catch and will not 
 take bait. This is due to the fact that they 
 are getting as much food as they need and 
 they refuse fo be attracted by dead bait; or, 
 if they do so it is just out of curiosity and 
 not for the want of a meal. When this is 
 
 12 '^v; 
 
the case it is best to try some kind of scent. 
 There is quite a number of these scents on 
 the market but very few of them are of any 
 account. The three that I have used with 
 the most success are fish oil, which may be 
 m-ide at home, oil of anise, which can be 
 bought at any drug store, and a scent put 
 up by Funsten Bros. & Co., St. Louis, Mo, 
 The first two that I mentioned are the 
 cheapest and work very well, but I have had 
 much better success with that made by the 
 Funstens and shall continue to use it. The 
 traps are set in exactly the same way when 
 using scent that they are when trapping 
 with bait. To use the scent- a few drops c?n 
 be put on a piece of rabbit skin or a twig 
 dipped in it can be put where the weasel 
 will have to cross the trap to get to it. 
 This bait will require renewing every week 
 or so, especially in cold weather. 
 
 During the winter months the weasels 
 run about nearly every night and in a heavy 
 blizzard or snow storm they are sure to be 
 out as they are not bothered by the cold. 
 They do not travel about as much in thawing 
 or rainy weather. 
 
 When setting traps they should always 
 be placed where there is no chance of the 
 animal jumping over them. When the 
 weasel is going at his usual ga t he touches 
 
 13 
 
the ground in such few places compared to 
 most animals, that it would be very easy for 
 him to miss a single trap set in his runway, 
 whether he knew it was there or not. This 
 is one of the reasons why a trap set in a 
 small hollow log or a hole is more successful 
 than one put down most any place in a run- 
 way, unless it is set so that the weasel will 
 have to run into it. This may be done by 
 placing twigs or pranches in such a way that 
 the weasel will light in the trap in jumping 
 over them. 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 PREPARING THE SKINS, 
 
 Very often a weasel will become very 
 badly soiled from struggling in a trap and it 
 requires a good deal of cleaning .before the 
 skin is removed. This is easily done by 
 washing the animal in warm water, using a 
 little soap. The water should not be hot, 
 as it tends to loosen the fur, causing it so 
 
 shed. Washing the fur in the above man- 
 ner does not harm it in any way, but greatly 
 improves its appearance, which, of course, 
 adds to the value of the pelt. After wash- 
 ing the animal let it dry perfectly before 
 commencing to skin it. 
 
 First cut off all four feet about half 
 way up to the body. Starting with the hind 
 
 14 
 
legs run a sharp knife under the skin on the 
 back side of the legs, continuing the cuts 
 until they meet at the base of the taik The 
 next and for some the most difficult step, is 
 to remove the tail bone. To do this it is 
 sometimes necessary to split the tail an inch 
 and a half or so on the under side. If this 
 is done carefully there is no danger of pull- 
 ing the fur off. After the bone is removed 
 commence skinning the body, using the 
 knife v^^hen needed, but being careful not to 
 cut the fur. The skin should be turned in- 
 side out and pulled toward the head as fast 
 as it is loosened, so that the fur side will not 
 get soiled by coming in contact with the 
 flesh. The only other place where there is 
 liable to be any trouble is the head, around 
 the ears and eyes. 
 
 The knife will have to be used here. 
 When the ears and eyes show under the skin 
 cut them as close to the head as possible. 
 
 Weasels skinned in this way will not be 
 cut open on the under side, and it will re- 
 duce the value of the skin if it is cut open. 
 There is not much fat on a weasel and if it 
 Is carefully skinned there will not be any on 
 the skin after it is removed. If there is any 
 it may be removed by scraping the skin with 
 a dull knife after it is stretched. I stretch 
 my furs by pulling them over small thin 
 
 15 
 
boards with the fur side next to the wood. 
 The stretchers taper enough to conform 
 with the shape of the skin, so that it can be 
 stretched uniformly. My large boards are 
 2% inches at the shoulder and 3 inches at 
 the base. The medium size are 2 inches at 
 the shoulder and 2>4 inches at the base, and 
 the small ones are 1 3-4 inches at the shoulder 
 and 2%. inches at the base. 
 
 The edges are rounded to prevent the 
 fur from tearing when pulling it from the 
 board. 1 he fur may be taken off the 
 stretcher after it has been on two days. No 
 
 salt of any kind is needed to preserve the 
 skins if they are trapped in the winter, and 
 the fur dealers do not like to buy salted 
 pelts. 
 
 There seems to be no especially good way 
 to remove the yellow stain found on the 
 under side of so many weasels and it still 
 shows after the furs are made up. 
 
 The better quality of white fur has 
 been quoted during the last few years at 
 from 2S cents to 75 cents; short or stained 
 skins less. 
 
 Most of the fur houses will not pay 
 anything for the brown weasels, and those 
 that do buy them never pay more than five 
 or ten cents. 
 
 I will he glad to explain anything about 
 weasels not made clear in this book, if when 
 writing you will enclose a stamp for reply. 
 
 \i M. Barnum, 
 
 LaGrange, 111. 
 16 
 
4 1910 
 
 : 77-102 
 52 
 
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