Gopher Hides
“For some reason or other, the thought entered my mind whether the “hide” (as I called it at that time) on the gopher was not of some value, as I had at different times heard people talk of selling the hide from mink, skunk, muskrat, wolf and so forth. Accordingly one day I went to the butcher and asked him whether he bought gopher hides, since I had seen people sell cow hides there. The butcher replied in the negative, and of course that settled it with me.
“Soon after this I got into a conversation with one of the big school boys about catching gophers and selling the “hides”. He said he was positive the skins could be sold; but one would have to offer quite a few of them….I supposed the fellow was telling the truth, so a-gopher catching I went. I also told two of my friends about it; and they, too joined in the race to see how many they could get.
“We were pretty busy the rest of the summer for gopher in those days were plentiful there being no end to them, it seemed. When we stopped in the latter part of the summer, we were rather anxious to see how many hides we had. On counting mine I found I had a little over three hundred. My chums had somewhat less than two hundred apiece. The hides had been all salted down so as not to spoil in the hot weather; and now came the time to sell them somewhere.
Going to the butcher and “hideman” as we called him….I was told the dealers he sold hides and furs to did not buy gopher skins; at least they were not quoted in the lists which he receives. Still, he said, the way to find out would be to write to them. With this advice, I got the name and address of those whom he shipped to and wrote to them myself. Imagine my feeling when I got the answer. They stated that gopher skins had no value in the fur market, and that I would not find a market for them anywhere.”
-from page 16-18 “28 Years of Interesting Experiences by Hans C. Shellrud
Farm Girl and a Baby Gopher
Late one afternoon in April I ventured across the yard to toss a bowl full of vegetable scraps to the chickens….As I turned to go back to the house, something near my feet caught my attention….Looking closer I found a strange mound of greyish soft hair -something that appeared to be digging…I could see it was a trembling baby gopher…It was a bit chilly outside.
Going into rescue mode, I quickly ran to the storage building for a pair of gloves and a plastic tub. As I picked up the wee baby girl, I found her to be quite docile….with no signs of injury. Perhaps a raptor had gotten her and dropped her. Once I determined there were no gopher mounds nearby that she might have ventured from, I put her in the plastic tub and decided to keep her overnight. Of course, back at the house FD (her partner) was not too keen on taking in a gopher. We had enough trouble with gophers around the place -like destroying many of our new tree transplants.
I began a little research as I always do when I rehabilitate a new species. According to the instructions from a reputable website, I lined the tub with various types of greens from our yard and pasture. I put several scoops of good garden dirt in half of the box, elevating the dirt slightly at one end. Immediately the little gopher got to work on the greens. I noticed she liked to burrow under the greens….She was even a tidy gopher, setting up her urination area on the far corner of the shallow dirt. I now understood how I had sometimes seen weeds or even saplings just disappear beneath the surface of the ground as if something was pulling them under. It was likely a gopher chowing down, one stem at a time.
The next day was chilly and rainy, so I decided to wait a day to turn the little gopher loose…. That night the rain poured down and thunder rolled. Lightning flashed through the night. I was glad I opted to have the baby gopher spend another night inside where she would have a good chance of survival.
The next morning the rain was still pouring down when I heard the dogs getting active at 5:30….Normally they are lazy until we get up….Then I thought I heard the sound of scratching….I jumped up in time to see the gopher had escaped. Not thinking, I took the first opportunity to catch the baby gopher as it came towards me….I wailed out in pain and dropped her yelling out, “SHE BIT ME!” I looked at my index finger which was spurting blood and FD yelled to get a glove….I got the glove I’d been using to handle her but it was fairly useless as she bit that getting FD in two different fingers….FD finally managed to get a good grip where she couldn’t bite and quickly went to the back door….Out into the rain he went, releasing her into the cold, dark, blustery morning. But at that point neither of us cared what kind of send-off she received. I now understand why some predator may have dumped her in the first place.
For days FD and I remarked how sore our fingers were from the deep penetration of the baby gopher’s teeth….I underestimated the resiliency and instinct of this little gopher and later read that the female only stays with her pups for a few weeks and then sends them out of the borrow, where they set out on their own completely equipped for survival.
By littlesundog “Day by Day the Farm Girl Way”
Link: https://littlesundog.wordpress.com/2018/07/21/baby-gopher/
(Read more of her farm girl stories)