Next morning after pancakes and coffee, the very first thing to attract my attention, when I stepped outside was two huge wolf pelts nailed to the side of the shack doing duty as the barn. I became interested at once owing to the unusual size and freshness of both. "Fifty dollars in one night is like finding money, eh," remarked the old man.
I asked him how he managed to catch these cunning animals, knowing that others had met with poor success elsewhere. Says he, "I didn't learn the art of wolf trapping by mail — I have been afflicted with the fad of wolf trapping for 30 years, and in pursuit of them, I have learned a few things not observed by other hunters. I may not know it all but I think I have the only successful trick of trapping these cunning animals and any man who will try my suggestions will meet with good success."
Wolves are very suspicious animals, and have a keen scent for human beings. They will sometimes make a wide detour around a place where I have blazed a tree for the purpose of marking a spot I want to again visit. They are very observing and while the scent of a man's trail through the forest is fresh they will not come within many feet of his path. Hunters find in the school of bitter experience that it is no easy matter to catch them in traps. Old trappers will tell you that it is easier to catch the cutest fox than it is to snare the dullest and most stupid wolf. I have followed the same method all my life — I learned the trick from a half breed trapper in the far Canadian Northwest.
I select an open place in the woods or on the edge of the forest. It is necessary to have a knoll or mound near the center or edge of the clearing on which to place the trap, and in plain view of your bait which you propose to place there for the benefit of Mr. Wolf. A piece of venison or ham is about the best bait to use. I hang this on a sapling or tree and high enough from the ground so the wolf cannot get it by jumping. Make no mistake, mind you, regarding the height from the ground. I put it at least eight feet, for I can tell you a wolf is no slouch when it comes to jumping, especially when the reward is a good chunk of meat, and he happens to be hungry.
"Why not plant a trap under the bait," I suggested, in an effort to appear wise. "Not on your life," says he. "Mr. Wolf is always looking out for just such a joke."
A Northern Wolf.
Continuing, he says, "I then cut a stake about six feet long — one with a crotch at one end. I sharpen the other end for the purpose of driving it into the ground. The ring on the end of the chain which is fastened to the trap, I slip over the stake up to the crotch. I then drive the stake into the ground so that no part of it is exposed. I place the trap on the highest part of the knoll and then cover it with leaves. I never take the leaves in my bare hands. I use a piece of bark to carry the leaves in and always from some other place than in the immediate vicinity of the trap, for, mind you, the vagabond is quick to detect if the leaves have been disturbed, and will also scent the presence of man if the leaves have been placed there with his hands.
And remember, it is absolutely necessary that no part of trap, chain or stake be left exposed to view. You see, if you leave the top of the stake sticking out, showing where it was cut off, it is enough to make the vagabond of the woods suspicious that there is a "nigger in the fence" somewhere, and he will lose no time in getting into the next township — instead of attacking the bait.