MONEY AND RECREATION IN TRAPPING

I shall not attempt to go at this subject from a professional side, as I think no boys care to trap for a living. Whatever may be said about the boy having a gun in a thickly settled suburb, nothing can be offered against his trapping if he goes at it in an amateur way and with no intent to exterminate the animals (which only a shrewd trapper could do).

I will presume the boy to be attending a neighbouring school either on the edge of a city or in a town. Under these circumstances he must attend to his traps early in the morning or after school. At first there may be no more than enough money in it to cover the cost of traps, but nevertheless the recreation which it offers will appeal to the average boy. As his knowledge of animals becomes greater with time, he will get more and more pocket money.

When he starts in, the other boys may laugh at him and say that there is nothing to trap. In most cases they would make a big mistake, because there often are, on the edge of a city, more fur-bearing animals than in the surrounding country. This for the reason that the professional trapper is not present and most of the city boys do not know how to trap. There are, say, muskrats and an occasional mink along the rivers and streams. The swamps usually abound in muskrats. In the woods and fields are squirrels, rabbits, raccoons, opossums, and (in the North) woodchucks.

It is legitimate to catch the water animals in ordinary steel traps because, if set right, the captive is instantly drowned. For dry land the steel jaw-trap is not suitable, because it will rarely kill the animal, but cause him much suffering as it usually breaks his leg. Often in such case the trapper will only find a foot in his trap, the animal having gnawed or twisted his body free. Nevertheless any trap is humane which kills the animal instantly. There are many new traps on the market which will do this, but on account of their being patented and high-priced they are not extensively used. The traps which are most commonly used for this purpose are the deadfalls and snares.

The muskrat lives wherever there is a body of water. He feeds chiefly on vegetable matter which he obtains in the swamps or digs on the banks, although he frequently visits a cornfield or vegetable garden. Only in cases of extreme hunger, as happens when they are frozen in, have they been known to eat their own kin. In swamps they have houses made of rushes and twigs, standing in a rounded shape about two feet above the water.

To trap in the swamps one must have high rubber boots and if the water is deep a small boat is necessary. A home-made flat-bottomed canoe, made of canvas, will be found to answer the purpose admirably. Where it is shallow enough to use the boots, a long, heavy staff should be carried, as the mud is very often treacherous and interwoven with muskrat runways. I might as well say in the beginning that the intending trapper should take a friend into his confidence and the two set out to trap together, for in this way they can help each other out of difficulties. (My friend had to do some pretty stiff pulling once to get me out of a mud hole into which I had recklessly plunged, having only in my mind to get to my traps quickly.)

Along the rivers the muskrats live in holes in the banks. In trapping in such places one may walk along the bank or use a boat, setting the traps in the entrances of houses or in the runs.

Before the trapping season begins it is very wise to go over the territory and locate the different houses, runways, and feeding places. This will save time when trapping begins, which should not be before December, because up to this time the pelts are not in their prime. The trapping season lasts for about three months or until the ice breaks up in the spring.

If the water is not yet iced over, the muskrats can be caught with the steel jaw-traps. They should be set in the runs or at the entrances of houses so that they are just under the surface of the water. The chain should be staked in the water as far out as possible. The muskrat will in every instance try to swim out into deep water and the weight of the trap on his foot will pull him down and drown him. Traps may be baited with apples, carrots, turnips, and nearly any vegetable or fruit. The bait should be stuck on a slanting stick so that it will hang about a foot above the pan of the trap.

"Stop thief" trap

When the water is frozen over, other methods must be followed. Many trappers cut the houses open and set the traps on the inside, but those who wish to keep the muskrats in the vicinity will not do this, because it destroys their homes and causes them to seek new shelter. For my own use I have "stop thief" traps which kill instantly and are not very expensive. A hole is cut in the ice and the trap set before the house entrance or in a swimway. In going through, the muskrat puts his foot on lever a, which releases b, and this in turn lets down lever c, which strikes him over the neck or back, breaking it instantly. As shown, the trap is fastened with staples to a wooden prong, one end of which is stuck in the mud at the bottom and the other fits just under the ice.

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.

Stretchers for skins. The narrow one for mink, the other for muskrat

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:

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.

Snare with carrot bait

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.

Deadfall

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