"A coyote will travel a few hundred yards after taking the strychnine, even if it is put in lard or tallow. If he has eaten a large meal of frozen meat and then the poison, he will go far enough so he will be hard to find, and never found if you have any amount of bait to look after and it blows and covers his tracks up and maybe his carcass too. The result is that it makes other animals of his tribe leery about taking baits."
"Birds such as magpies, ravens, and crows will eat poison and fly off and die and be devoured by coyotes, foxes, mink, skunk, etc. The result is that many of them die, and what don't, get so sick that they are very careful about touching the next bait they see, generally giving it a wide berth. Then there are lots of birds, such as camp robbers and magpies that carry it off and store it away for martens or something else to eat and get poisoned by. There was a very large amount of skunk, but owing to the fact that many people poison whole carcasses for coyotes and wolves, they are rapidly disappearing."
"Some people claim that the dog destroys more furs than anything, but I believe that strychnine is a greater evil than a dog or at least in this county, so you see I have a good reason for advising a trapper not to use strychnine. It is the easiest way and the quickest way to get a few furs, if in the hands of an experienced man, but the furs are always a lower grade because the poison acts on the fur and there is always a hide now and then that the hunter will not find at once."
"The trapper will have the most furs and in the best condition at the end of the season and generally a place to trap more at the next season. The strychnine hunter will have to hunt a different place as what animals he failed to kill, will leave the country or become so wary that they will not touch bait. An animal which has recovered from a dose of poison, carries a pelt that is oft times worthless."
CHAPTER IX.
TRAPPING WOLVES.
After all of the various methods of hunting have been given a fair and impartial trial it will usually be found that trapping is the best means of capturing the wolf and coyote. Large numbers of traps may be set and attended to and the chances of making a good catch are greatly increased by so doing. If one has a liking for the work, makes a study of the animals and sets the traps carefully, good results are sure to follow. In all probability, four fifths of the coyotes and wolves captured in the United States are taken in this way. It is quite common for the professional trapper to take one hundred or more coyotes and wolves in a season.
The trap that is recommended for the timber wolf and the only one that was ever designed for capturing that animal is the "Newhouse" No. 4 1/2. It is a large and powerful trap, having a spread of jaws of 8 inches with the other parts properly proportioned. It is furnished with a two pronged drag and a heavy steel chain, guaranteed to stand a strain of 2000 pounds. The trap complete with chain and drag weighs about 8 pounds. A simpler and stronger chain fastening than that shown in the cut, is now used for attaching the chain to the trap.