SACKING FOXES.
Now try this method all the way through and you will soon see that I am right. My brother set his first fox trap Dec. 9th and on the morning of the 10th had a large female red fox and killed it in a pasture near a path, and that night caught the largest dog fox I ever saw or heard of.
He got both these foxes just exactly as the above method indicates. The dog fox weighed 19 pounds and its hide measured 5 ft. 5 inches on the board. The old fox had lots of gray hairs on his head, evidently an old timer.
CHAPTER X.
WIRE AND TWINE SNARE.
Various are the ways being studied for the capture of the fox and other shy animals, says J. H. Shufelt, of Canada. Most every trapper has a particular method of his own. Years ago trappers thought it was necessary to set in water in order to be successful in catching foxes, but after a closer acquaintance with the ways of the fox, it was found that they were easily caught in a steel trap on dry land in many ways. At the present time the trapper has found a less expensive way of catching them with the snare. This method has many advantages, and when properly set is a sure thing. It takes in most of those old sly ones that have been nipped by steel traps, etc.
The method shown here is only one of the many ways of the snare. Owing to the peculiar fastening of the snare, a powerful spring pole or weight can be used with a lighter wire. I use a copper or brass wire 1 gauge, with a foot or more slack between fastenings, which gives the spring pole a chance to instantly take advantage of the fox as soon as caught, when he will be caught up to the staple (which should be high enough from the ground so the fox will swing clear) and choked.