It may seem strange to the reader, but it is nevertheless a fact, that, after entering the coop, a bird will try to fly out of the top, and will remain there until starved to death, if not released, without attempting to escape by the way it entered.
A Rabbit Snare.—This can be used to the best advantage after the first snowfall, for the footprints of a rabbit are then easy to follow. Bunny can be counted upon keeping in the same path to and from his burrow, and a snare set in the centre of his path is pretty certain to catch him before very long. The snare should be made of a piece of soft wire about two feet long. Make a noose in one end about four inches in diameter, and fasten the other end to a branch projecting over the path (see [Fig. 223]).
This noose is commonly attached to what is known as
A Twitch-up, or a sapling bent down and held as shown in [Fig. 224]. One of a number of schemes employed for holding the sapling in position is here shown. Select a spot a few feet from a sapling, and there make an enclosure about twelve inches in diameter. This should be made of twelve-inch sticks driven into the ground in a circle, leaving an opening of about six inches on one side. Drive a stake into the ground on both sides of the entrance, and cut a notch in the outer face of each about six inches above the ground (see [Fig. 225]). Find a twig somewhat similar to the one in [Fig. 226], and, after slipping it into the notches and baiting the prong, fasten the noose and sapling to it. With the trap thus set, a slight pull on the bait dislodges the crosspiece, and the sapling springs up, jerking the animal into the air, and causing its death almost instantly.
Caught at Last.
Ranchers of the Western plains and mountains are continually experiencing severe losses from the attacks of wolves and coyotes upon their live-stock, and to rid themselves from the nightly raids of these animals requires unceasing warfare against them with traps. But the wolf and coyote are very crafty fellows, and extremely keen-scented, so that even professional trappers have trouble in capturing them, often resorting to every scheme they can devise without success. Steel traps are generally employed by the professional, as they are less cumbersome and quicker to set than the home-made affairs. The traps are handled with gloves, as the touch of the bare hands would be instantly detected by the wary animals, and, after being placed in a circle around the bait, are covered over with leaves and brush. In order not to leave human footprints behind him, the trapper often sets them while mounted upon horseback.
Not long ago, a trapper was hired by a rancher in New Mexico to capture some Loboe wolves which had been making serious raids upon the cattle, and one of his experiences while working there was somewhat laughable, though probably not seen in that way by all the parties concerned. Using a dead calf for bait, the trapper dragged it to a selected spot, and there surrounded it by eight or ten traps, which he chained fast to stakes, and carefully hid from view. Setting out to visit the traps as usual, on the following morning, he mounted a knoll from which he could see the location of the bait, and there plainly made out that a number of his traps had been sprung and were occupied. But upon reaching the spot, his surprise and disgust can be imagined when he found a dog in one trap and a bad-tempered Indian held fast by the clutches of three others. After releasing the captives, the trapper gathered from the Indian's half-broken English that he had been riding by on the previous night, and his dog had wandered from the trail and sprung a trap. He had then dismounted to release the animal, but had not taken more than half a dozen steps before his foot became clutched in a trap, the force of which threw him forward, and, in trying to break his fall with his outstretched hands, each became securely clutched in traps. Fortunately no wolves made their appearance, and the couple were unharmed; but the Indian no doubt spent a sleepless and uncomfortable night in the position he was forced to occupy.