BIG GAME SET.
No. 4 is my favorite for bear, mountain lion and in fact all larger game. Choose two trees near together and place a pole from one to the other on which to hang the bait; 1 is bait the height of which should be varied according to the game sought and 2 is the pole on which bait is hung; it can be nailed on or laid in forks.
In setting steel traps the beginner is generally very careless. He simply sets his trap on the bare ground, brushes a few leaves over it and stakes it fast, or staples it fast to a stump or tree. As a rule he finds that the wind has blown the leaves off his trap, leaving it bare, or it has frozen fast to the ground, or if it has made a catch the game has escaped.
In setting a steel trap, dig a hole an inch deep and the size and shape of the trap when set. Line this hole with dry leaves and set the trap in it, filling in between the jaws with dry moss and covering with dry, light substance in keeping with the surroundings.
For trapping the shyer animals the smell of iron should be destroyed, which may be done by boiling the trap in cedar or hemlock tips. The trap should be covered with these tips so that trap and bed all smell alike. Do not make any tracks or have the bushes or grass trampled down around the trap. Animals are more afraid of human signs than they are of human scent, at least I have found it so.
In setting the trap, be sure that the jaws lie down solid or the animal may tip the trap over by stepping on a jaw and you will think that you have a very cunning animal to deal with.
If the trap is set at a den or enclosure, turn the spring to one side so the animal will not step on the spring. I prefer the Blake pattern trap as the trap may be set with the spring pointing straight out from the enclosure and the animal steps between the jaws, not over them. Be sure, when setting at a den or covered enclosure that the opening over the trap is large enough to allow the animal to walk over the trap, for if they must crawl over it they are apt to snap the trap by pressing against it and all the trapper finds is a little bunch of fur. In setting traps on dry land do not stake it down as the game will often escape by pulling its foot out of the trap. It is much better to fasten the trap to a brush drag. I leave a good stout prong near the big end of the brush. Bend this prong down and slip the ring over it.